Aboard Air Force One, former President Bush shows photos of his paintings to, from left, First Lady Michelle Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Valerie Jarrett, National Security Advisor Susan E. Rice, Attorney General Eric Holder and former First Lady Laura Bush, Dec. 9, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Dec. 11 (UPI) -- The flight on Air Force One to South Africa was a crowded affair, with a former president, two former first ladies, and a slew of advisors hitching a ride with the Obamas headed to the Nelson Mandela memorial service.
Air Force Once has a history of providing a place where former presidents can bond with the current one, often to attend funerals of other world leaders, and this trip seemed no different.
By now, we all know about former President George W. Bush's new love of painting, and the 43rd president agreed to assuage the curiosity of his fellow travelers by showing off photos of some of his pieces on a tablet.
With Laura Bush looking on, Bush displayed his paintings to Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, senior advisor Valerie Jarrett, National Security Advisor Susan Rice and Attorney General Eric Holder. White House photographer Pete Souza captured the moment.
We first found out about Bush's artistic inclinations when a hacker broke into personal email accounts and found photos of the former president's paintings, including a self-portrait of him in the shower and one of his feet in the bathtub. And last month, he presented Tonight Show host Jay Leno with a portrait.
The same hacker managed to get his hands on some of President Bill Clinton's doodles and released those to the public last week.
[US News]
[The Verge]