Lou Beach

OK Now

Vintage poster, printed ephemera

About the artist

Lou Beach

I am an old man now, 74 years old. Family lore has it that as a toddler, I was left in my playpen with piles of newspapers and magazines which I tore into pieces; print media as babysitter. That seems to have been the beginning of my career as a collage artist.
I am self taught, learning from looking and practicing, cutting and pasting, and yes, tearing. For many years I worked as an illustrator, making art for record covers and magazines - always someone else's needs to be met, problems to be solved. Once I returned to making art for myself, creating and solving my own problems, I felt the freedom of expression blossoming again. I grew up in a working class ethinic neighborhood. My parents worked in factories and I did too as an adult, along with putting up sheet rock, driving a truck, working in a machine shop, and other unskilled jobs. Discovering art in books and museums and galleries awakened an ambition to become an artist. Art became my job.