Meet Richard Sullivan | Freelance Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Richard Sullivan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Richard, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
My path to starting my own business was a bit unorthodox. I was released from the Braves after playing 5 years of minor league baseball and decided to go back to SCAD to finish my senior year. I was shell shocked coming out of baseball and only thing I knew I needed to do was finish school and see what happened after that. From an early age I was always in art class as well as baseball so it just felt natural to see how far I could take my art. It was tugging at my soul so to speak.

To feel connected to baseball, I started painting friends and Braves players I had just played with and it just grew from there. The Braves were building a new stadium right after I graduated so I just focused on getting my work into the new stadium. I developed my watercolor style during this time and really committed to painting every day. I had this huge goal to get in the Braves stadium and that kept me motivated for several years. I ended up painting 18 paintings for Truist Park which was a dream come true! To have it come full circle like that really opened my eyes to what I could do with my art.

My business has grown naturally over the years and I keep finding ways to push myself. I have a license with MLB right now and I am growing my print business to sell in MLB stadium shops. I see my sports and equine art as a business. It allows me to be free and use my creativity and skill everyday. Being an entrepreneur has so many challenges but there is a huge reward for me to face my fears everyday. The great thing about working for yourself is your business evolves as you do.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As an artist-athlete, there is definitely a journey and a story behind my work. Growing up, I never believed I could be a professional artist or that was even a possibility. I was always so focused on baseball as a kid but also was loving art class. I didn’t fit into one certain community so I felt isolated growing up. I think finding SCAD and realizing there are other artist-athletes out there was a huge gift. It’s the first time I felt like I could do both and be successful at both seemingly opposite endeavors. I think I am most proud of trusting myself when I was afraid and didn’t know exactly how things were going to turn out. Continually putting myself out of my comfort zone and creating from a place of strength. We are always faced with challenges and lessons every single day. Figuring out what I am most afraid of and turning to face it and realizing it usually isn’t that big of a deal anyway is a big lesson for me on the daily.

My mission as an artist-athlete has always been to share my love of art and sports, creating a dialogue about the parallels between the two. What’s behind the athlete, the artist or any entrepreneur is the same thing. We are all creating from our strengths and pushing our boundaries.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My home base is in Louisville, Ky now but there are so many great things to do in Atlanta! I love checking out the Belt Line, Botanical gardens, High Art museum, Ponce City Market, obviously the Battery and seeing a Braves game! I always loved Antico pizza and Superica. A perfect day in Atlanta is a little art, a little culture and seeing a ballgame!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I believe my parents, coaches, friends, partners, teachers, pretty much everyone who has ever given me an encouraging word deserves so much recognition and love! I wouldn’t be here without them. I am so grateful for everyone in my life who has supported me.

Website: www.richardsullivanillustration.com

Instagram: richard_sullivan_art

Linkedin: Richard Sullivan

Twitter: @rsulli200

Facebook: Richard Sullivan Art