by Jantje Blokhuis-Mulder
Mark Beam was born in Detroit Michigan in 1957. A self-taught artist, he began making works of art when he was 26 years old.
First he experimented with a variety of materials and through that search came up with a look that is unique to him. He describes it as, "Foam, paper mache, and a bartop plastic finish where the paint looks like its still wet".
Mark has lived in Southern California for many years and he believes that has had a real effect on his imagery... explosive color, a finish like you might find on a surfboard, and humor too.
Mark's wonderful works of folk art can be found in the private collections of Frank Zappa, Penny Marshall, Danielle Steele, Carrie Fisher and Robin Leach to name a few.