the bathroom ones show some talent but aren't my cup of tea.

but the bathroom ones are unexpectedly refreshing and indeed quite good for an amateur. Does not make one respect him more as a former president but does make one realize there may be more angles to his personality than the caricature we all adhere to (for obvious and legitimate reasons). I was actually disturbed that I found myself liking the bathroom paintings.

They are a bit less primitive, but not by much and he doesn't seem obsessed by bathrooms.

K&R

This is fun stuff:

But Saltz also raves about Bush’s art, declaring that he “loves the bather portraits”:

"The reclusion and seclusiveness of the pictures evoke the quietude (though not the insight, quality, or genius) of certain Chardin still lifes. These are pictures of someone dissembling without knowing it, unprotected and on display, but split between the promptings of his own inner drives and limited by his abilities. They reflect the pleasures of disinterestedness. A floater. Inert. The images of a man who saw the entire world from the inside but who finds the smallest, most private place in a private home to imagine his universe. Of almost nothingness. Sweet, sublime, oblique oblivion. The visibility of invisibleness.

Concluding, Saltz urges Bush to “paint more. Please.” And he suggests—seriously, we think—that the Whitney Museum of American Art “get on the stick and offer this American a show.”

pretty accurate

Now if only he'd started painting many years ago and gotten really good at it, maybe he could have made a decent career as an artist instead of becoming a politician and a shitty president. Interestingly, Hitler was a fairly good painter, too, but he wasn't quite good enough to get into art school so he became an evil despot.

And I love the rest of your post.

You nailed it.

Brushwork is decent in areas, with some surprising color choices in a few places for an amateur. But the underlying bones look weak, not the naïf of a practiced artist who has honed powers of seeing and drawing.

Bad drawing is my pet peeve.

I don't think his shit is any good, to be blunt.

It has value because it was done by a famous person, but if the same stuff was done by some poor no-name in a locked ward, it wouldn't get a second of interest or respect.