Reese Gould: A Special Artist

Bike-riding HPHS grad loves animals, cartoons, sports

Reese Gould has become familiar to many in the Park Cities, whether riding his bike and delivering Jersey Mike’s sandwiches, or for the prodigious drawings and paintings he often creates for friends and organizations. 

He grew up here and graduated from Highland Park High School where he was part of the special programs and participated in Special Olympics.

Reese’s mother, Becky Gould, describes him as a self-taught artist.

“I saw this real ability to transfer images to paper as if he were tracing, but it was a freehand drawing,” she recalled. “Reese has always had a bit of a tremor, and I noticed when he drew, he didn’t have that.”

Reese identified “animals, cartoons, and sports” as favorite subjects, noting he also likes abstracts. 

A recent art exhibition organized at the family home on Druid Lane drew a surprising crowd

“It was packed in here,” Reese said, chuckling. “Two hundred people.”

“He did a great job on the PR; sent out all the invitations,” Becky explained. “When we were getting ready to show his work, I grabbed a bunch of his sketch pads to scan them all in. There was so much stuff that I had no idea he had drawn, just mounds of work. He doesn’t have much left after the show, but he’s restarting now.” 

A police badge painting is proudly displayed at the University Park Police Station, and he created a piece for the HPHS production of Beauty and The Beast. 

“When he hears of a friend picking a college, he will do the emblem or mascot and drop it to them as a gift,” Becky said. “He does a lot of gift-giving.”

“I know someone who loves the Kansas City Chiefs,” Reese said, pointing to a portrait of Patrick Mahomes as we toured his home art studio. The walls are adorned with colorful abstracts, animal paintings, and portraits of music and sports stars.

“These were something I found going through his pads,” Becky said of a series of sketched faces expressing different emotions. “Those are some of my favorite things he’s done.” 

“She’s the one who made the art room,” Reese said, pointing to Becky.

“I had to. We could hardly walk in here,” she responded, laughing. “Artists can often be not the most organized people.”

Reese also won the pumpkin carving contest last October at the Park Cities YMCA.

“I was overwhelmed with the turnout,” Becky said of the exhibition. “It was a testament to the community that Reese has built, the community here in the Park Cities, and to our school district. Once you go here and have friends, that just continues. The community has been such a safe environment for Reese to ride his bike and engage.”

Near the end of our tour, Reese shared his plans for the future.

“Keep on making art,” he said.