He wasn’t her most gifted student. But he was the most persistent.

April 18, 2017 7:43 AM

The Artist Who Taught George W. Bush to Paint
posted by bq (14 comments total)

He still has a long way to go in terms of becoming technically proficient, but I must admit his paintings, though amateurish, are expressive.

Too bad he didn't start painting decades ago.

Too bad he he didn't choose art instead of politics decades ago.
posted by orange swan at 8:50 AM on April 18, 2017 [8 favorites]

This is fine art.
posted by chavenet at 8:55 AM on April 18, 2017 [4 favorites]

NPR had a good interview w/ 43 yesterday or last Friday. It was good to hear parts of it, but doggone Bush is doggedly determined to not ever reflect on the things he did. (This was in relation to his new book of paintings of veterans from the wars he started). I was flabbergasted as his intransigence to do any self-reflection/introspection on the irony, even as the interviewer tried to get him to. Guess that's why he's "The Decider".

(I think this was the story, but the audio I felt tells more than the transcript)
posted by k5.user at 9:08 AM on April 18, 2017 [3 favorites]

You know what other world leader should've chosen art instead of politics?




Churchill. He's considered to have been quite good.
posted by the sobsister at 9:39 AM on April 18, 2017 [11 favorites]

Many consider Jimmy Carter a better ex-President than he was a President, but I disagree. I do agree that Bush is better as an ex.
posted by Mental Wimp at 9:57 AM on April 18, 2017 [1 favorite]

Especially in art circles, his paintings are used as something of a joke, but no one has ever disagreed when I point out that they're really incredibly sincere expressions... which is a very rare thing in art.

As much as he literally helped ruin the entire world and still seems like an asshole, I like his paintings.
posted by cmoj at 10:37 AM on April 18, 2017 [5 favorites]

Especially in art circles, his paintings are used as something of a joke,

O_o You gotta hang with better art circles then. A good art circle would recognize it for what it is. People want to take pot shots at a dude's hobby because of who he is which is, yeah, I guess, but kind of cheap. Dude's been painting for four years, doesn't present himself as more than he is and apparently grinds. A good art circle would be like "Winsor & Newton, cantcha afford better, George?"

He'd be welcome at my studio any time; we won't talk politics because we never do and because I wouldn't want to have to throw him out. Outside of his horrible past job performance he seems like in the damage-constraining-confines of pigment and studio he'd be OK. I've never been in a studio that hasn't been full of misfit toys.

I don't think I'd let him go about his subject matter though. "Its good that they're doing great George, but they were doing better and that's on you." It would make a better epigraph if he'd own it. His childlike hero-fascination is kind of weird, like it fuels the disconnect. It's telling that he does not work from life.

Also, the fuck, George, not all of us have room for a 4x8 glass slab.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 11:19 AM on April 18, 2017 [13 favorites]

GWB did a lot that I don't agree with as president. However, I would absolutely love to sit down with him and talk art and creative process. He may not be talking about or saying things out loud in interviews but shit is definitely bubbling up in his chosen subject matter. I can't fault the guy for that - if I've got minor shit in my life I don't want to talk about with my friends that bubbles up in my art journal then why would I expect GWB to be out front on things where he was on the world stage with 24/7 coverage. I'm hoping he keeps leaning into his folksy persona, has a long life, and eventually goes, "yep, I done fucked that up."

Anytime his paintings have come up in conversation with artists I know the main thrust has always been, "glad he found something he enjoys and that he's sticking with it."
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 11:39 AM on April 18, 2017 [3 favorites]

I didn't agree with his actions as a president at the time, but now that he's retired I'd love to sit down for a beer and talk poetry with Radovan Karadžić!
posted by Deece BJ Pancake at 11:52 AM on April 18, 2017 [1 favorite]

Too bad he didn't start painting decades ago.

Too bad he he didn't choose art instead of politics decades ago.

I dunno, what if he then failed as an artist, and decided to get into politics? That sort of thing has happened in the past, and the results weren't pretty.
posted by Trinity-Gehenna at 1:02 PM on April 18, 2017 [3 favorites]

And I see the sobsister already mentioned ...Churchill. Oh, well.
posted by Trinity-Gehenna at 1:07 PM on April 18, 2017

W's latest paintings evoke a feeling that he realizes that and is realizing some truths about the impact he's had.

One does get that impression, but TA does say he was nudged in the direction he took, had a lot of teachers. "Do some heroes, it'll be interesting", someone thought... Maybe he's working things out, maybe he's just happy to be painting anything and thrilled people are taking him seriously. Maybe it's that the absorption and movements involved calm some restlessness, he's a physical person. Who knows what he's really putting in there.
posted by cotton dress sock at 11:03 PM on April 18, 2017

“Oil paint moves; you can put it down and then take it away, and he was not afraid to make marks that were wrong.”

Is there a German word for a quote chosen by a journalist as a heavy handed and crushingly unsubtle metaphor?
posted by Jon Mitchell at 1:16 AM on April 19, 2017 [3 favorites]

Technically they're obviously the work of a diligent amateur but the veteran portraits capture something about the subjects that make them interesting to look at. I think they're telling us a lot about the artist even if he doesn't think they are.
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 12:51 PM on April 19, 2017 [4 favorites]