“He was honestly shocked that he was getting paid for his art,” recalls Cindy Dore Brunet of Houston, Texas. George Rodrigue arrived at her house twenty years ago in his blue van, the back lined with freshly painted mahogany Blue Dogs, carved from George’s design by Douglas Shiell’s father, a master craftsman whose son assistsContinue reading “The Immaculate Dog”
Author Archives:
Recalling Le Grand Dérangement…from Quebec
As my sister Heather and I travel within Quebec this week, I note a surprise within every hair-raising, lightening speed turn of our host’s, a former racecar driver’s, Hummer. We flew (by plane) Thursday into Montreal and flew (by car) to the small village of Nominingue, where we remained two nights on a lake (anyContinue reading “Recalling Le Grand Dérangement…from Quebec”
Pink Dog
Over the years George Rodrigue designed a number of labels for both wine and beer. Recently he created A Bouquet of Rosé for John Schwartz and winemaker Heidi Barrett. Their wine, Prêt à Boire, is a small production, French style rosé out of Napa Valley with a name meaning “ready to drink.” George tempts us withContinue reading “Pink Dog”
The Artist’s Mother: Marie Courrege Rodrigue
“Aren’t you happy?” my uncle asked Marie Rodrigue on the night of my engagement to her son. “You’re going to have a daughter-n-law!” “I had one,” she replied, her face deadpan. “It didn’t work out.” When she died in 2008 at age one hundred and three, George Rodrigue’s mother still wanted to “go home” toContinue reading “The Artist’s Mother: Marie Courrege Rodrigue”
Hank Williams or Moon Mullican: A Blogging Dilemma
“I love how Louisiana artists yell out food names when they run out of lyrics.” -Elizabeth McClanahan, Senior at Loyola University, majoring in Music Industry Studies I intended this Jazz Fest post for weeks, focused on Hank Williams. George Rodrigue and I trekked through rural Alabama last month, the Hank Williams Trail, with stops inContinue reading “Hank Williams or Moon Mullican: A Blogging Dilemma”
Art Abounds
“Cracklins are the purest form of pork; minimalist pork, if you will.” –Doug MacCash* Art abounds at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and on the streets of New York City. If we pay attention, art abounds in life. “Look around this room,” I hear George Rodrigue tell students during school visits. “Everything youContinue reading “Art Abounds”
Blue Dogs and Cajuns on the River: A Painting, Print and Exhibition
“Once a person tries hard enough and long enough without results, the last place they expect to be recognized is in their own backyard. George Rodrigue could not be more excited about this exhibition or the turnout of public support if his art were on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.” That’s basically theContinue reading “Blue Dogs and Cajuns on the River: A Painting, Print and Exhibition”
Iry LeJeune, Cajun Accordion Player
Spring is festival season in Louisiana, and this history, particularly regarding Cajun music, exists visually in the musicians’ portraits painted by George Rodrigue. Since the early 1970s he painted dozens of music-related scenes, Southern music legends including everyone from Elvis Presley to Mahalia Jackson. (See the post “Musicians: A Series of Paintings”) However, the CajunContinue reading “Iry LeJeune, Cajun Accordion Player”
A Distinguished Eagle Scout
On May 12, 2011 the Boy Scouts of America honor George Rodrigue with their highest honor, the Distinguished Eagle Award. Since established by the National Eagle Scout Association in 1969, only six Eagle Scouts from the New Orleans area have received this honor, the last one twenty-two years ago in 1989. Never have I seenContinue reading “A Distinguished Eagle Scout”
Monroe (that’s MUN-roe), Louisiana
Until recently I thought I understood Louisiana, its ins and outs, its people, its terrain, and its history. Yet we spent much of this past week in northeast Louisiana, and I found town after town unfamiliar, including our destination, Monroe, a city of cypress groves, 60,000 people, and tremendous state pride, located 270 miles northContinue reading “Monroe (that’s MUN-roe), Louisiana”