James Eckman, also known by his painting name 自夢, was born in Long Beach, California and was exposed at an early age to Chinese brush painting. Later, he took classes from Ryuko Kokuzo at the Long Beach Buddhist Church. After moving to the Bay Area, he was lucky to find Hou Beiren teaching at the Pacific Art League and ASACA. Lately he has also started studying calligraphy under Yu Chun-hui and been playing with seal carving. He has been exhibited in locations in both Southern and Northern California as well as Kunshan, China.

James Eckman 畫名叫自夢，出生於美國加州長堤。自小就愛好欣賞中國畫，並從長堤佛教堂Ryuko Kokuzo先生習畫。 年長搬到北加州後，有幸拜侯北人先生為師，近年來又隨于君慧先生學書法，並自習刻印，自夢的作品曾先後在南、北加州及中國昆山展覽。