If the prolific painter George W. Bush has taught us anything about art, it’s that practice makes perfect. Okay, he’s not perfect. But with every new portrait unveiled, the 43rd president has definitely improved from his leggy bathtub period of 2013.

Bush’s most recent revelation is a selfie in which he and George H.W. look forlornly into the future/past together (probably thinking, “You can buy my new book that coincides with this painting on Amazon.com or at any respectable Wal-Mart!”), but I thought it would be fun to explore the lesser-known creative sides of some of Honolulu’s great public figures, to look inward, and out some closet artists.

Sen. Will Espero’s “Sunday Haiku”

Will Espero

Sen. Will Espero, Poet

Every Sunday (and, okay, whenever inspiration hits), state Sen. Will Espero puts pen to paper and writes down a haiku that he then shares through his social media accounts.

“When it came to something that I can give to the constituents and residents in my district,” he told me, “I was thinking about how I can be a little creative and different than what other people, who have given out calendars or recipes, might do.”

So he compiled them into a self-published collection titled, aptly enough “Sunday Haiku,” and says he has enough new haiku to publish a second book. He focuses mainly on the nature and scenery of the islands, and writes in his introduction that his are “intended to evoke a feeling or vision within your mind and soul.”

Not sure how his stacks up against the work of Japan’s “Four Greats”, but Espero’s haiku sure are relaxing. He wrote this one, about recently being appointed Vice President of the Senate, just for us:

As autumn winds change
Leaves of hope fill the pathway
New journey begins

Rep. Tom Brower, Freestyler and Hip-Hop Artist

Besides being a one-time sledgehammer vigilante sworn to protect Ala Moana Beach Park against the rogue homeless shopping carts that plague it, state Rep. Tom Brower is also an occasional rapper. Take for example, the above video, shot at his invocation in 2010, when “the Tominator” rapped a cover of Yung Joc’s, “Goin’ Down.”

Here are the things going down in Brower’s version: the caucus, the speaker’s office, dissidents, the chamber, the snack shop, the elevator, the 5th floor, the backdoor, his mama’s house, the superferry, the Facebook, Kyle’s gas station, Isaac’s tax service, Jerry’s motorcycle, Carl’s briefcase, and donated kidneys. Oddly enough, no sledgehammer.

Rep. Lauren Cheape Matsumoto, Jump-Roper, Filmmaker

Lauren Matsumoto, state representative from Waialua, Mililani, Schofield, Wheeler, Mokuleia and Kaena Point, is an emotive jump roper, as evidenced in the above promotional video for her Miss America campaign in 2011. Matsumoto says she started jumping at the age of 5, and reveals the secret to her triple under side-swing crisscross: love yourself, open, and share it with everybody else.

While her skills at jumping rope (and hugging herself and sharing the love with everybody else) are masterful, Matsumoto is also a filmmaker, and earned a BA in film production at UH. She directed a documentary about her family’s Wahiawa farm and the troubles facing Hawaii farmers, called “Farm Grown,” which she says was influential in passing the Feed Subsidy Bill, and also wrote and directed a short film that screened at HIFF in 2009: “Li Hing Mui, Lilikoi & Lychee,” about a quest to find shave ice on the north shore.

“What I love most about film was having a voice and being able to share those ideas,” she said, calling in from D.C. “Being in the Legislature is just an extension of that.”

As for jumping rope, she still does that too, and said she jumped rope at more than 15 local schools last year to talk about childhood obesity. “I figured, I better walk the walk — or jump the jump, as you might say.”

Sen. Brickwood Galuteria, Jazz Guitarist

Long before Brickwood Galuteria represented Waikiki, Ala Moana, Kakaako, and Moiliili in the senate, he was well-known as a guitarist and singer — he won Na Hoku Hanohano awards in 1985 for male vocalist of the year and most promising artist.

Galuteria was also a radio celebrity for 26 years (he’s the guy who connected a phone call from the Hokulea to the space shuttle Columbia in 1992 on his 105 KINE radio show) and still performs at fairs and benefits. If you want to hear more Galuteria, listen to the clips from an album of performances at Brew Moon, where he would frequently play (RIP, Brew Moon).

There is such a thing as Hawaiian Jazz, and Galuteria knows it well.

And as a bonus, because I know we didn’t elect him into the night slot as anchor of KHON’s 6 and 10 o’clock news, but I just want more people to know about Joe Moore’s Twitter account* because he inexplicably has only 999 followers (who will be the 1,000th??). In addition to acting in plays with Pat Sajak when “Wheel Of Fortune” comes to town, anyone who watches all the way through Moore’s newscast knows that he is also a very philosophical individual.

*A source at KHON says Moore does not tweet these himself (he also has more followers on Facebook).

Consider, for example, these:

Have you ever noticed…nothing upsets a politician as much as learning that other politicians are playing politics.

— Joe Moore (@JoeMooreKHON2) November 5, 2014

Have you ever noticed…people who ask, “Can you keep a secret?”…can’t. — Joe Moore (@JoeMooreKHON2) October 31, 2014

Have you ever noticed…two weeks on a diet is a lot longer than two weeks on a vacation. — Joe Moore (@JoeMooreKHON2) October 24, 2014

Have you ever noticed…no matter how long you nurse a grudge it won’t get better. — Joe Moore (@JoeMooreKHON2) October 10, 2014

Have you ever noticed…life is full of ups and downs…like getting up in the morning and getting down to work. — Joe Moore (@JoeMooreKHON2) September 27, 2014

Have you ever noticed…the traffic lights are always green, when you’re not in a hurry. — Joe Moore (@JoeMooreKHON2) September 20, 2014

Gov. Neil Abercrombie, Entertainer

And who can forget “Governeil’s” breathtaking performance as the forgotten 3rd Blues Brother. The governor exits office on Dec. 1 but may this 1986 riff with Nick Masters, TBone Kelly and the Duck Soup Blues Band be forever remembered.