Decades after walking the halls of Pittsburg State University as a campus security officer, Rick Fulton now spends his days surrounded by paint brushes, canvases, and color. At 81 years old, the retired Army veteran and PSU alumnus has transformed his apartment into a personal art studio; a space filled with landscapes, seascapes, and the quiet rhythm of creativity.
“In retirement, this is what I do,” Fulton said. “I started taking art courses at PSU and at Labette Community College after I retired in 1995. For the past 30 years, I’ve explored different kinds of art at home, particularly acrylic paintings, though me and my number two pencil doodle a lot.” His paintings, often done in acrylics, blend his lifelong love for history and his fascination with light and movement.
Many of his works capture the glow of sunsets over water or the vibrant change of seasons across the Midwest. Each piece reflects not just a scene, but a story, an intersection of memory, color, and emotion.
“The Summerfield Apartment Clubhouse has hosted two of my paintings every week for the last year,” Fulton said. “I do landscapes and seascapes to study colors and blending. It’s how I continue learning.”
Fulton’s connection to Pittsburg State runs deep. After serving eight years in the U.S. Air Force, including two years in Vietnam as a photojournalist, he returned to Kansas to pursue his education. He earned a Bachelor of general studies in 1974 and later completed a Master of Arts in history and community college teaching in 1977.
Fulton recalled how he started from humble beginnings and worked his way through school as a campus dispatcher and patrolman.
“Not bad for a street kid,” Fulton said.
His studies in history, particularly World War II, continue to influence his artwork.
“I’ve been studying WWII history for years,” Fulton said. “After D-Day, I built a terrain model of Normandy using my art skills.”
Throughout his life, Fulton’s greatest inspiration was his late wife, Lorella. After her passing in 2023, painting became Fulton’s way to honor her memory.
“Lorella was my best friend as well as my wife,” he said. “We were very close, and she supported everything I did.”
He recalls how they once traveled to Alaska in their RV during the summers, photographing the scenery and wildlife that would later inspire his paintings. Fulton’s philosophy on art is simple, but profound. His works often display a balance between realism and emotion, memory and meaning.
“Art is the means of capturing reflections of light to communicate ideas about our world,” Fulton said.
With more than 60 paintings completed, Fulton insists he paints not for profit, but for joy.
“I give my paintings away as gifts,” Fulton said. “I do not sell them.”
Now residing at Via Christi Village, he intends to keep creating.
“The plan is to work with photography,” Fulton said. “Also, more drawing. Wish me luck!”
Then, with the same humility that has guided him through every chapter of his life, Fulton chuckled and summed it all up: “Just an old Vietnam vet having fun with paint and pencil doodles.”