Color me impressed.
I need to get to this library
There is more talent in George W. Bush’s $hit than in all of obamalamadingdong...just say’n.
Opinions are like a$$holes. And most liberals are.
Wonder what W thinks about while he is painting? Or, is he painting to avoid reflection?
He does have talent. But not overweening talent.
Those bottom three look like he’s painting Zombies from the Walking Dead show.
Liberal critics of Bush’s art secretly hate themselves for realizing it’s good.
I love his portraits! They are not professional but he has captured the expression of every one and that is the hardest part.
I just like the fact that Bush is willing to take his artwork public despite knowing it’s far from polished, and knowing that he’ll be derided for it by the usual suspects. He’s like Reagan in that he has a very centered kind of humility about him.
I’d like to see Bush do a portrait of King Barry.
He should take up photography and start with a picture of Michael Moore in a jar of urine. That would set the Beltway circle jerk to wagging.
Painting is not something you learn overnight, it's a process. Usually you don't see the early stages because by the time you see artists' work they are farther along in the learning process.
He's got a good 'eye', and the knack of capturing a likeness - which is not an easy thing to do at all. His brush can't yet quite DO what he can SEE. That takes years.
Pretty good stuff. Painting takes skilled hands and a good eye.
Bush Derangement Syndrome is alive and well.
I can’t believe the liberals and their meltdown over Bush doing paintings.
What the heck is up with that? Liberals, who are so tolerant, allegedly, are not very tolerant of a former president and a hobby of his in retirement. What is the sam hill is political or controversial about his art? Why would anybody criticize an amateur artist for his efforts in the first place, if he likes painting? Aren’t we supposed to be tolerant????
I’m still POed at Bush for lots of excellent reasons. That said, it takes courage to put your art out in front of the whole world, especially when you know it’s only mediocre. I’m sure he doesn’t need the money, or the validation.
.......,.big spender though he was, at least GW respected the military!
I like his work.
“amateur, very literal-minded” and “like a freshman art student attempting alla prima,”
Yeah, well he IS a beginner. He IS a ‘student artist’ at this point. Accordingly there are some inconsistencies and beginner’s technical and craftsmanship errors.
HOWEVER ——
There is a sincerity and reach for essential qualities of the subject that is really strong. There is something of the icon in his portraits. To make the subject present, to define their essence and make it real. His paintings are honest observation too - not sarcastic or sycophantic.
There is a strength and honesty in his work that is undeniable, and a respect for his subjects, from world leaders to dogs. He puts me in mind of Lucien Freud, without the angst and alienation. Lucien Freud’s technique is more polished of course, but that is simply the result of experience.
W’s art career has just begun. Perhaps for the first time in his life he is doing what he truly wants to do, for himself instead of others, or the pressure of others. The joy on his face certainly reflects it.
I wish him many more years, much success and all contentment in his art. I hope too that he will continue to be as forthcoming with it as he is now.