OL Samuels left home at the age of eight. He worked on Georgia farms and later traveled to New York City to become a prizefighter. In 1962, Samuels returned to the South and worked as a tree surgeon. An accident in 1982 left him severely injured. He became deeply despondent during his slow mental and physical recovery until he remembered that his grandmother, a freed slave, told him for depression one should carve on a wooden spool. Samuels picked up some wood and began to carve. Today, he continues to carve, allowing his sense of humor and his imagination to dictate the often magical figures which emerge from the wood.

OL Samuels is certainly one of the most talented self-taught artists in the United States. He is listed in most of the major books on the subject and is included in many important collections.

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