F Julious Fisher Decorative Artist

        The brothers joined a traveling decorative artist group, left Ohio in 1908, and worked their way west, arriving in Los Angeles around 1910. It was said the artists traveled overland selling fire extinguishers along the way from their flame painted truck to help pay expenses.

        Listed as "Frank J. Fisher, artist" in the 1911 Los Angeles City Directory, he soon went to work for the Sheehan Brothers (John and James), a large decorating and wallpaper firm in Los Angeles.
        By August 1912, Frank opened a studio as "F. Julious Fisher, Decorative Artist" at 2108 W. 7th Street, Los Angeles. He decorated many Los Angeles homes, churches, and theaters with his own hand cut stencil designs. His wife, Anna, was the driving force in the business. She would find the clients, draw up the contracts, and collect the money. By now brother Vernon was working for Julious.
        In 1919 he relocated his family to Long Beach, California to establish his decorative art business in this growing city. At the same time several of his fellow artisans had been summoned to San Simeon. Julious also had the opportunity to work on the project, but when he found that the architect was a woman, he declined.

As a sixteen-year-old, eight-grade dropout, in 1900 Frank Julious Fisher began working as an apprentice harness maker. Frank's older brother, Vernon, was a wallpaper hanger and painter. Frank was intrigued with the Art Nouveau designs on the wallpaper his brother worked with. With no formal art training, Frank's natual talent was enough to earn a position on a decorating crew working
in and around Allen County, Ohio.

        Fisher continued his decorative art in Long Beach up until WW ll. Stenciling by then had fallen out of favor; also, sometime in the late 1930's, Julious had been in a near fatal automobile accident that affected his ability to work from high scaffolding.
        He was an also an accomplished wood carver and knew that his working on the high ceilings was coming to an end, so he began to develop the woodcarving into a full time business. Using his same stencil designs he carved fireplace surrounds, church podiums, doors, wall sconces, tables and bookcases. By 1950 he was teaching woodcarving at night for Long Beach City College Adult Ed. at his shop on American Avenue in Long Beach.

Using his Masonic membership to his benefit, Julious involved himself with the Long Beach influential crowd, the bankers, attorneys, politicians, and building contractors. Anna joined the local women's Ebell Club.

In 1921 the construction of Fisher's Home-Studio began. This was to become Julious's show case of his artistic talents. Each room was decorated differently. The "Great Room" 18' x 36' with a 20' high ceiling was stenciled in red roses with a mezzanine gallery around two sides. Hand painted floral designs were on all the hallway doors. Ceilings, wooden beams, glass panels, were all hand stenciled by Julious. Wrought iron light fixtures, hand railings, gates along with the best Art Nouveau furnishings made the home a showplace of the 1920's.
The Fishers would entertain in the home; Julious and his crowd, and Anna with her Ebell ladies. It worked well for them, there was plenty of work; a large mausoleum, several Masonic lodges, churches, and homes, in the Long Beach area. His work took him from San Diego to San Francisco. The home was sold in 1929 prior to the stock market crash.

        In 1954 his wife and business partner Anna passed away. He soon left Long Beach for Midpines, near Yosemite, where the Fishers had spent many summer vacations. He built a small home along Highway 140, put up a sign "Scenic Art Lessons-Watercolor or Oil", painted his surroundings, sold some work and made enough to live on. Not happy being alone in his later years; in 1961 he relocated in Palm Springs, California were his oldest son and family lived. Julious took great joy in being a grandfather and great grandfather.
        He continued to give painting lessons-"Visit..Julious Fisher's "Paintin Place" instruction in oil and watercolor painting-visitors welcome." A "Charter Artist" of the Artist of the Desert in 1969. An occasional wall mural or small stenciling job would come along.
        Frank Julious Fisher passed away August 13, 1973 in Palm Springs, California at the age of 89.