Scott Gentling, a wildlife painter and portraitist, received special recognition in January 2002 with the unveiling of his portrait of President George W. Bush when he was Governor of Texas. This painting is the official gubernatorial portrait of Bush, and President Bush and his wife, Laura, were at the ceremony. Gentling is also a recognized muralist, having designed a mural for the dome of the Bass Performing Hall in Fort Worth. Stuart and his twin, Scott Gentling, who is also an artist, are twins whose art combines the romantic realism of Andrew Wyeth with the scientific rigor of John James Audubon. Their fame is based as much on their magnum opus, Of Birds and Texas, as on their exacting and labor intensive explorations of ancient Aztec sites, historical costumes, and the exoticism of landscape. The pair were recently honored with the commission to paint the official portrait of Texas Governor, Rick Perry. The twins were born in Rochester, Minnesota, but came to Fort Worth, Texas when they were five years old age when their father became the head of the anesthesiology department at Harris Hospital. The Gentling boys are products of the Fort Worth school system, and both attended Tulane University and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts where they studied under Walter Stuempfig and watercolorist John McCoy. Although highly regarded as independent figurative painters and quick to point out differences in their own special approaches, the two brothers have a unique sense of collaboration and have been creative partners for as long as they or anyone else can remember. With subject matters ranging from the ancient Aztec capital of Tenochitlan to Native American Indians, they are perhaps most widely recognized for their masterful book, Of Birds and Texas, a boxed portfolio of 50 paintings of birds and landscapes, published in 1986 to universal acclaim. They are also self-motivated scholars, amateur archaeologists and avid collectors of objects and art with interests including 18th century musical instruments and original clothing, Audubon memorabilia, American Abstract Expressionist paintings and ancient Greek and pre-Columbian artifacts. The Gentling brothers have lectured over the years at the Fort Worth Art Museum, the Amon Carter Museum, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the Kimball Museum where they also exhibited their paintings for the Kimball’s popular Artist’s Eye lecture series. Stuart Gentling died in Fort Worth, Texas in 2006 Source: Askart.com