It’s All Going To The Dogs
Some people have no business being artists… and others have no business holding public office. Put the two together and you get, well, the following story.
Actress Jane Seymour fancies herself a painter. As with the artworks of most pop celebrities who turn to the “hobby” of painting after a dazzling and money-spinning career, it’s not quality or profundity that makes the art desirable to some – it’s the star quality. To be blunt, Seymour’s paintings of landscapes, flowers and children barely approach the stilted mediocrity of a hopeless amateur… but who am I to argue with celebrity star power.
It is reported that paintings by Seymour sell for as high as $35,000. I know of professional painters who have been at it for decades who can only dream of selling a work at that price – ahem – naturally I’m not referring to myself here. But dear reader, true talent does not go unrewarded, no sirree. Ms. Seymour’s official website reports that, no less than the President of the United States, George W. Bush, owns an original Seymour. The humble actress-turned-artist is quoted as saying of her formidable patron:
“He has my painting of the Grand Tetons. It needed a splash of something, so I painted puppies into the landscape. That’s the fun part of art. It’s inspired by reality, and then you can take it to another dimension.”
Puppies. Seymour painted for President Bush, a landscape with puppies frolicking in the Grand Tetons. One wonders what room in the White House is graced by this curiosity, or how it might fit in with the official White House art collection; which includes great painters like Gilbert Stuart, Claude Monet, Childe Hassam, Albert Bierstadt, and Mary Cassatt to name but a few. Perhaps we might also stumble upon this in the Bush White House State Dining Room.