Not only has George Bush stunned the art world with his ability with a paint brush, it now appears the former US president is also a dab hand using internet search engines.

Art critics have pointed out that Bush’s 30 oil paintings of world leaders appear to be have been based upon casual searches of Google Images.

Rather than have his subjects sit for him or use printed photographs, Bush seems to have based his portraits on the first picture thrown up by the search engine.

Critic Greg Allen highlighted the trend in his blog, pointing out that many of the pictures were taken from the subject’s Wikipedia entry. Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel, Tony Blair and John Howard were among those to get the Google Image treatment.

“If he had one, it would mean Bush's studio assistant is very, very lazy,” Allen wrote.

“But in all his discussion of it, Bush's painting practice appears to be a solitary one. He apparently did not tap the enormous archive of photos, taken by the professionals who followed him every day for eight years, which are contained in his giant library.

“Instead, it seems, he Googled the world leaders he made such impactful relationships with himself, and took the first straight-on headshot he saw.”

Critics have have been rather uncomplimentary about the 43rd US president’s efforts, which have been labelled “unsophisticated” and “dreary.”

The uncanny similarity between the portraits and photos on Google Images raises the possibility that an apron-wearing Bush did little more than trace the outlines of the venerable leaders’ visages before daubing them with paint.

Not all critics have been derisory of his methods, with the New York Times art commentator Roberta Smith saying: "Mr Bush has an uncanny ability to translate photographs into more awkward images enlivened by distortions and slightly ham-handed brushwork.

"His skill may be disconcerting for people who love painting and dislike the former president, but still, everyone needs to get a grip, especially those in the art world who dismiss the paintings without even seeing them."