Painter Richard Sullivan Earns USSU’s 2024 Sport Artist of the Year Award

The United States Sports University proudly announces that painter Richard Sullivan is the recipient of its prestigious 2024 Sport Artist of the Year Award. The award, which celebrates outstanding contributions to the world of sports through visual art, honors Sullivan’s ability to capture the passion, energy, and spirit of sports in his unique and evocative works.

Sullivan received the award on the USSU campus on November 14, 2024, at the university’s annual Awards of Sport event. Several of his watercolor and oil pieces are now on public display at the American Sport Art Museum & Archives on the USSU campus, and one piece will become a permanent part of the art collection there.

Sullivan’s passion for creating art and playing sports began when he was just a child. A former professional baseball player, Sullivan uses watercolor and oil paints to capture sports figures, equestrian scenes, and abstracts in his studio in Louisville, Ky.

“From the moment I picked up a pencil, I was drawing the world around me,” Sullivan said. “I was also instinctively attracted to baseball and from the moment I picked up a ball, the sport captivated me for 26.”

Baseball and art gave Sullivan a foundation and structure at an early age that he struggled to find at home or at school. Playing baseball and creating art allowed the artist to feel in control, and gave him a boost of confidence, courage, freedom, and external validation that he didn’t feel otherwise.

“Whenever I stepped on the baseball field or into my art practice, I felt alive, joyful, and enthusiastic,” he said. “All my senses became heightened; I could focus and trust myself in a way I couldn’t otherwise. These positive experiences early on saved my life. I felt hopeful, inspired, and whole. My confusion, anger, and anxiety were released every time I pitched. Baseball and art taught me life lessons that translated beyond the playing field. I felt connected to my inner and outer purpose.”

Sullivan’s passion for both baseball and art led him to the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), where he received a full athletic scholarship to the only art school in the country with a sports program.

In 2008, Sullivan’s junior year of college, he was drafted in the 11th round by the Atlanta Braves as a left-handed pitcher.

“This was a dream come true,” he said. “I was so excited to work hard and reach my full potential as a pitcher that my art practice took a backseat.”

After six years in the minor leagues, Sullivan picked up his paint brush again.

“The joy and freedom I felt while painting were the same I experienced in my best performances as a pitcher,” he said. “This allowed me to let baseball go completely and focus on my artistic practice. My art gave me space to mourn the loss of my identity as an athlete while also being part of the community I felt so attached to. I put all my focus, determination, and will into creating my new life as an artist.”

Now, his clients include the Atlanta Braves, Woodford Reserve, Atlanta Falcons, Washington Nationals, the Washington Post, Philadelphia Phillies, SEC Conference, Topps trading cards, Kentucky Derby Festival, National Baseball Hall of Fame, and hundreds of collectors of original art and commissions.

Photography by Jon Hauge — view the full event gallery (opens in a new tab).