Gov. Jay Inslee reacting to his official portrait which was unveiled on Jan. 14. (Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero / Washington State Standard)
In his official portrait, Gov. Jay Inslee stands tall in front of a vast blue sky. In his hand is an official “State of Washington” folder, and on his lapel is a red apple pin.
In the background is a snowy Mount Rainier — a meaningful part of the painting that Inslee said looks toward the future and highlights his work fighting climate change.
“It is my firm belief that because of the work we’re doing here in Washington state, in 100 years from now, we’ll continue to have those glaciers and snow,” Inslee said.
Inslee unveiled the portrait, which was done by Seattle-based artist Grace Athena Flott, on Tuesday shortly after his final State of the State address. He was joined by family, friends, fellow lawmakers and colleagues.
“The image of the mountain, the feeling of the sky, I cannot be more impressed,” said Inslee, who also saw the painting in person for the first time on Tuesday.
He thanked Flott for “capturing the dream that we gave you.”
Inslee and his wife Trudi selected Flott after a competitive search for portrait painters conducted by the Washington State Arts Commission.
Originally from Spokane, Flott now lives in Seattle and works as a painter and arts educator. After a major fire-related injury, she shifted her work to focus on painting people with burn injuries, according to the governor’s office. She also teaches workshops for burn survivors to create art and instructs classes at local art schools.
At the unveiling, Flott said Inslee struck her as someone who deeply valued the perspectives of others.
“It’s that spirit of collaboration, openness to new ideas, your spirit of service and your dedication to environmentalism that I put into this work,” Flott said. “This portrait is not just a simple likeness, but a sense of the inner world and that drive that has carried the governor forward through decades of his career.”
The portrait will hang in the governor’s office at the Capitol alongside paintings of past governors. Inslee’s term ends Wednesday at noon when Gov.-elect Bob Ferguson is officially sworn in.