Members of your family are usually your biggest fans when it comes to forms of expression like music or art, but that's not the case for the Bush family. In a recent interview with CNN about his new book on his father, George W. Bush discussed his art career and shared his family's opinions of his work.
Bush said that when he started painting, he tried to be "like a Polaroid camera," copying exactly what he saw. Now he says he is learning how to "work colors to get a different feel." The portrait of his father made it into the book because his dad liked it, but his mother did not approve of it or the portrait he did of her. He also painted a portrait of his wife, but she and their daughter both hated it, which led Bush to share this gem of advice to fellow artists: "Don't paint your wife or your mother."
Barbara Bush did request that her son paint her dogs, and the former president told CNN that his mother actually liked the finished product, so maybe portraits just aren't his thing.
[via LA Times]