James Seeley Fuller was born in South Dakota in 1927. He moved to California after World War II and studied art at UC Berkley under the GI Bill. After receiving his MFA in 1952, Jim worked as a painter, printmaker, and sculptor. He taught at UC Berkley, CAl State Los Angeles, UC Davis, Laguna School of Art, and Scripps College.
James Seeley Fuller (1927 – 2017)
To Jim “drawing is seeing” and make art ” was to be present to the presence”. Jim passed away in 2017.
Jim Fuller grew up in North Dakota and attended Chaffey College to earn his undergraduate degree. During this time, Fuller took his first art class at Scripps College and fell in love. He continued studying art at Berkeley and eventually earned his M.A. in fine arts. He began teaching at California State University-Los Angeles, moved to University of California-Davis, and eventually ended up back at Scripps College in 1966. Fuller’s earlier work was contemporary and included a variety of mediums including oils, sculpture and printmaking.
These days Fuller has taken to walking into nature and painting anything inspirational. It’s a process, painting, making myself being there in that place finding out what that place is, says Fuller. If the painting is well enough formed, there’s a chance of communicating that place to the observer. Watercolor has become his medium of choice. It’s this crazy watercolor. It’s a strange medium putting little puddles of paint on paper to make an image. Seems like a strange process to me, he said. This curiosity about the medium has driven and inspired James Fuller to create beautiful, light, and sweeping artwork that shows an appreciation for the natural world. His art will create a stunning backdrop for the Athenaeum speakers throughout the year.
