HOUSTON – Inside Lee Wright's downtown Houston art studio are pieces of his work.
His style of art involves transforming pictures into oil paintings. But a picture of him and the 41st president snapped five years ago isn't a work of art. Still, it represents what is perhaps Wright's masterpiece.
“It was a big moment for me,” Wright said.
It was, in fact, a monumental moment for Wright, who presented the late president, George H.W. Bush, a painting of himself that's a replica of Bush's 1942 Navy pilot picture taken when Bush was just 18 years old.
“He seemed to take a trip down memory lane when he saw it as well, he liked showing me the wires in the painting, how those controlled his radio. He told me a little bit about his time in the service; you could really see a bunch of fondness when he really spoke of his service,” Wright said.
Wright had a week instead of his typical month to paint the former president's picture. He was contacted by Bush's staff after weeks of trying to reach them to let them know he wanted to give the 41st president a painting.
Wright said the late president hung the painting at his office. But the exchange captured in this picture wasn't just Wright giving the painting; it was of Wright fulfilling one of his wishes.
“It was a huge honor and one of the biggest privileges in my life was to meet him,” Wright said.