Richard Hight has spent a lot of years traveling the world, teaching people for what “seems like most of my life,” he says. “Art has always been a part of my life. It’s the way I communicate, the way I found my self-esteem…when people think of Richard Hight, they think of artist,” he said.
Hight spent the first part of his career as an illustrator, and was working on magazine covers and book covers and then phone would start ringing. “People would call me up and say ‘Richard, could you come talk about your artwork?’ And I would come and they would feed me lunch. And then a few weeks later, somebody else would call and say, ‘Richard could you come again.’ Next time they called said ‘Can you come and do a demonstration When you give a talk?’ and I thought, ‘When’s lunch,’ you know?”
That was the start of it. Hight said he found a new passion for speaking, and that he could go out there and be different and do his art. “I really thought that was cool. I thought it was fun,” he said.
Hight—who lives with his family in Sand Springs—says that it’s because of that experience, he always encourages people to pursue their passions. “If you don’t think something’s cool or fun, don’t do it. Move on to something else, regardless of the pay.”
Something cool and fun wasn’t exactly what drove him to do the art as a tribute to nurses, but “an attitude of gratitude” that inspired it. “We’re seeing the reports of medical people losing their lives. This is just one way to say thank you. it’s my way of, visually, to say thank you.”
Hight says the reasoning behind choosing a nurse comes from a personal preference, but it could’ve been anybody: “I chose a nurse because my sister’s a nurse, and she’s trained nurses, but really, it could be a firefighter or it could be an ambulance driver, a doctor, or anybody, but I had to choose one, so today I chose to have a nurse, it’s a great place to start.”
Hight hinted that there may be more work coming, depending on the response to the nurse. “We’ll probably do a series of different first responders, just to let them know that we’re grateful for their service, for what they do.”
Readers who are interested in seeing more of Hight’s work might have the chance soon, as he’s kicking around the idea of participating in the Route 66 Blowout, which is scheduled for September.
“I’m doing a series on Route 66 right now, came through Sapulpa and painted the (Rock Creek) bridge, and I’m going to have some prints available, and some calendars, stuff like that. But everyday, I’m painting. You have to sharpen your skills, it’s competitive as any professional football team or anything else, you’ve got to do this everyday.”
Hight says that even though he’s been doing it a long time now, he continues because of what it does to feed his soul: “I’m older than I was, you know, and yeah, it’s physically, it’s harder, but spiritually, and getting in the zone, that’s funnest thing—when you’re in your zone doing what your God-given ability is and you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing—there’s a certain joy to that.”
