Former president George W. Bush interviewed by his daughter, Jenna Bush Hager, on the TODAY show, revealed for the first time his portraits of fellow world leaders that went on public display last week.
Bush’s passion for painting grew out of an iPad app he was fooling around with after leaving the White House in 2009. He told Jenna he never imagined himself as an artist.
More than two dozen of his portraits, including one of their dog, along with world leaders like Tony Blair, Vladimir Putin and the Dalai Lama, will be part of an exhibit called The Art of Leadership: A President’s Personal Diplomacy at the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.
“I hope they take it in the spirit in which these were painted in,” he told Jenna. “That was the spirit of friendship and that I admire them as leaders and was willing to give it a shot in terms of getting people to see how I felt about them.”
See also the painting he gave to Jay Leno on the air.
(SEE the paintings in the video below, or READ the story at TODAY)