“You may not think I’m a painter,” Bush told Leno, “I think I’m a painter.”

Bush made a rare nationally televised appearance on Leno’s show, billed by Bush as a send-off for the host. And he came loaded with the paintings he’s been working on with a Dallas tutor once a week. “There’s a Rembrandt trapped in this body,” Bush said he told the instructor. “Your job is to find it.”

The former president showed off a painting of his dog Barney (RIP), and a portrait of his new cat, Bob. Bush also proved that there’s no late-night show anecdote better than a Putin anecdote:

“I introduced Barney to Putin, and he kind of dissed him,” Bush said. “So a year later, Putin introduced me to his dog. Huge hound, bounding across the lawn, and he says, ‘bigger, faster, and stronger than Barney.'”