On October 26, 2013, George Rodrigue receives in New Orleans the prestigious Opus Award from the Ogden Museum of Southern Art during their annual gala, O What a Night!. Unable to attend the event, we asked Jacques Rodrigue, his fiancé Mallory Page Chastant, and André Rodrigue to accept the award on George’s behalf, and toContinue reading “Rodrigue Honored Tonight”
Author Archives:
The Right Thing
“I hate the right thing to do…” …grumbled my young cousin, her back to me as she descended the stairs. This was several years ago in New Orleans, and I had just pushed her towards something that seemed terribly important at the time. Her reaction to my vague reasoning reverberates like my own adolescent reactionContinue reading “The Right Thing”
Introducing… The Other Side
From the Introduction to The Other Side of the Painting by Wendy Rodrigue, published October 2013 by UL Press– My mom, an artist, talked me into my first Art History class, a sweeping journey from cave paintings to the start of the Renaissance. Previously, I avoided it, thinking I preferred self-discovery through my mother’s books. YetContinue reading “Introducing… The Other Side”
Spinning Wisdom
‘Round about, round about, Lo and behold! Reel away, reel away, Straw into gold!’* All my life, I’ve been drawn to women older and wiser. I like to imagine my grandmothers, although long gone, as young girls, and I stare hard into the faces of friends, some now in their 80s, sure thatContinue reading “Spinning Wisdom”
Louisiana’s Natural Beauty: An Art Contest with the Audubon Institute
The George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts (GRFA) announces its fifth annual Art Contest, a partnership with the Audubon Nature Institute. This statewide opportunity for scholarships and other awards benefits Louisiana’s high school juniors and seniors, all eligible for entry, regardless of grades or college plans. “As a student at Catholic High School in NewContinue reading “Louisiana’s Natural Beauty: An Art Contest with the Audubon Institute”
Absolut Blue Dog
It’s twenty-five years since George Rodrigue last drank alcohol,* and yet he was part of one of the most successful stories in advertising history, promoting a vodka. “Even when I did drink,” laughs the artist, “it was always bourbon or wine. I never liked vodka.” (pictured, Absolut Rodrigue, 1993, one of three paintings created byContinue reading “Absolut Blue Dog”
A New Rodrigue Book
“To your book!” …toasted George Rodrigue and son André as we perused the first copies of the finished hardcover, The Other Side of the Painting. “I nearly forgot about it…” …I replied, moved by their acknowledgment, as I returned that day from a long journey after visiting an ill friend back east. The book (still hardContinue reading “A New Rodrigue Book”
Lucky 22
“When you hit twenty-two, it changes the game…” …said my friend, referring to her lucky number as we played our own “terrific” version of poker in between blood pressure readings, bed changes, and doctor’s visits. I’m in the hospital again, sharing life’s challenges with an ill friend who, although I’ve taken pages of notes aboutContinue reading “Lucky 22”
Galerie Blue Dog, Carmel
In 1991 George Rodrigue opened Galerie Blue Dog in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. The one-square-mile village includes cottages, restaurants, shops and galleries, all descending westward towards the beach and Pacific Ocean. “I visited Carmel often while a student at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles during the 1960s,” recalls Rodrigue. “As long as IContinue reading “Galerie Blue Dog, Carmel”
Tom “Slim” Gray
“I wish I’d met you 20 years ago,” …said a tearful George Rodrigue on the phone last week with Tom “Slim” Gray of Alvin, Texas. The two became friends in Houston during the summer of 2012. They exchanged stories every Monday for nearly three months, as they sat for hours during chemotherapy. “I just wantedContinue reading “Tom “Slim” Gray”