I enjoy selecting vases, dishes, and pitchers from Rosalynn's kitchen and adding a potato, pomegranate, lemon or onion for contrast. A benefit of painting scenes of still life is that I have total leeway in selecting the objects and choosing their best positions. By moving the light source, I can change the entire composition.
-- Jimmy Carter, The Paintings of Jimmy Carter (Macon, GA, 2018) p. 41.

Jimmy Carter first discovered art in grade school like many American children. His interest deepened during his years in the Navy, where he and fellow sailors took up painting and studied the work of renowned artists. He continued to pursue art throughout his time as governor and later as president, finding moments to nurture his education. Carter's first experience selling his own work happened while on a cruise ship, where he and Rosalynn took a landscape painting class. On the final night at sea, their paintings were auctioned for charity, an exciting moment that rekindled Carter’s passion for painting. After returning to Georgia, Carter continued to paint from life and experience: "I enjoy painting scenes around my hometown or places that we encounter on our trips…Almost all my paintings represent subjects that have been personally meaningful to me” (p. viii).