Gov. Jay Inslee: ‘I’m a doodler’

UPDATE: The Governor’s office submitted some examples of his work. I gotta say: I’m actually impressed.

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Wondering why nothing ever seems to get done in Washington state? Well, our governor spends his time doodling to relieve stress.

“Well, I’m a doodler,” Governor/Artist Jay Inslee revealed to Politico’s “Off Message” podcast. “I take pastels and I rub ’em on paper and sometimes it resembles mountains or something.”

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Or something? When they don’t resemble mountains, what on Earth do they look like? I imagine once he’s done with one of these finger paintings, he runs up to a legislative aide, proudly holding up his latest piece of art, looking for some kind of acknowledgment. The aide reviews it, says pensively, “why this is a beautiful…” hoping Inslee will fill in the blank, explaining what his painting actually depicts.

While he doesn’t paint every day, Inslee turns to painting when he can’t quite handle what’s going on in the world of politics.

“It’s the inspiration,” Inslee said, “Something comes out of the White House, a tweet that drives me to distraction and I turn it into a picture of Mt. Rainier. So… It’s very… It’s a mental health issue.”

Inslee confirmed that President Donald Trump inspired the new art, which apparently can get dark sometimes: “I think [my art has] become more vibrant and dynamic and vitriolic as well… in fact I used to do dormant volcanoes. Now I do active volcanoes [laughs] to respond to the White House at the moment.”

I’d love to see some of this angry art. I hope it doesn’t resemble Patrick Bateman’s office notebook from “American Psycho.” Apparently Inslee hangs his art in his home and office, alongside some of his artwork showcasing the state of Washington.

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“I did [a painting] of a polar bear in a collage of torn up New York Times,’ Inslee proudly announced. “You get mad reading the newspaper you tear up the newspaper, make it a collage and paint bears on top.”

According to his office, “The governor does drawings for friends, family and staff. During the holidays he creates books for his grandchildren.”

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