“Waking wide-eyed dreams come as fitfully as swampfire.”* Years ago artist George Rodrigue owned a camp in Butte la Rose, Louisiana on the Atchafalaya Basin. He purchased it as a small, cabin-like structure on stilts and quickly built on bedrooms, extending a raised walkway to the river and over the swamp. -click photo to enlarge-Continue reading “Walker Percy (The Impossible Dream)”
Author Archives:
Intermission
Taking a painting and blogging break, as George Rodrigue and I celebrate many, many things with a mini-vacation in Las Vegas. While here, I read at last Walker Percy’s The Moviegoer, and will finish up a blog post this week tracing the story behind Rodrigue’s portrait of the great southern author. “Kate is shaking like aContinue reading “Intermission”
Living in the Spotlight
“This world, he’d say, is where you live, right here you do whatever work you have to do.” –Darrell Bourque on Elemore Morgan, Jr.* Some years ago I attended alone an opening at the Arthur Roger Gallery in New Orleans featuring the latest work from Acadiana’s beloved landscape artist, Elemore Morgan, Jr. (1931-2008). I exploredContinue reading “Living in the Spotlight”
Shiny Happy Blue Dog
“We mortals are but shadows and dust.” –Proximo, Gladiator Recently, while shopping for skinny jeans and day-glo tees with my sister and cousin, I time-warped to the 1980s when flashy jewelry, exaggerated shoulders, and acrylic fingernails prevailed. For a while, subtle feminine style seemed lost forever. George Rodrigue has never been subtle, in his ideas,Continue reading “Shiny Happy Blue Dog”
Rodrigue Collaborates
When it comes to painting, George Rodrigue is a loner. In recent months, he embraces full time the isolated setting of his Carmel Valley studio. The limited interruptions and lack of social commitments on this quiet California hill settle the artist into a near-obsessed dedication to his canvas and ideas. Ironically, however, it’s Louisiana thatContinue reading “Rodrigue Collaborates”
Footnote (He Stopped Loving Her Today)
In George Rodrigue’s latest painting, He Stopped Loving Her Today, Jolie Blonde’s hat sits alongside an above-ground tomb, the same type of vault his father installed in New Iberia, Louisiana as part of the family business. “I wanted to paint a tribute to George Jones (1931-2013),” explains Rodrigue. “I’ve loved this song for thirty years,Continue reading “Footnote (He Stopped Loving Her Today)”
The Breaux Bridge Band
Painted in 1971, The Breaux Bridge Band is a classic among George Rodrigue’s paintings. Along with similar works from this period, it defines his style as a pictorial champion of the Cajun culture, recording snapshots of time within turn-of-the-century Southwest Louisiana. Ironically, however, it is only on the artist’s canvas, and not in reality, thatContinue reading “The Breaux Bridge Band”
Blue Dog at the Movies
Since childhood, George Rodrigue has loved the movies. It’s the reason, along with Saints and LSU football, that his studio doubles as a theatre, and why most nights he paints to the backdrop of Turner Classic Movies. He returns to his favorites, The Searchers and Lonesome Dove, repeatedly. And he spent his teenage years paintingContinue reading “Blue Dog at the Movies”
Flower Power
“I always feel like I’m starting over, every day.” -artist Darren Vigil-Gray- In Carmel Valley, George Rodrigue and I live surrounded by flowers. Annuals flourish here, and for the first time in years, we’re on the West Coast long enough for me to not only plant, but also nurture. Our rose garden rewarded us immediatelyContinue reading “Flower Power”
Sacred Stones
While walking on Carmel Beach last week, I stashed, a bit guiltily, in my sweater pocket, a stone. It was cool and smooth and felt good in my hand, as I did what I always do when faced with a vista: refocused. It wasn’t until a few days later that I wore again my comfortContinue reading “Sacred Stones”