Turquoise Hill with its ancient turquoise mine is an enchanting place —spiritual, timeless, mysterious, and breathtaking in its beauty. George and I visited many times over the years, beginning in the early 1990s. We were guests of history, nature, and the mine’s incomparable owner and steward, George’s dear friend and now my husband, Douglas Magnus.Continue reading “Louisiana Lawyers Go West”
Category Archives: American West
Don’t Slow Me Down
In the spring of 2013 George Rodrigue and I drove our truck cross-country from New Orleans, Louisiana to Carmel, California, as we had twice annually for twenty years, finding adventure on alternate routes and detours along the way. We didn’t know that this would be our last road trip; however, we did travel with aContinue reading “Don’t Slow Me Down”
Shidoni: A Friendly Greeting
I returned recently, for the first time in five years, to Shidoni, a place where George worked regularly over three decades. Located in the lush Tesuque Valley, an oasis in the desert near Santa Fe, New Mexico, the foundry was George’s choice for some thirty years for transforming his clay sculptures into bronzes —whether three-dimensionalContinue reading “Shidoni: A Friendly Greeting”
The Moment
“What are you thinking about?” I asked George, following hours of silence. “The road,” he replied. After dozens of cross-country journeys together over twenty years, his answer was always the same. So I stopped asking, and pondered, instead, his answer. George wasn’t speaking of the asphalt, although he did reminisce about old Route 66 andContinue reading “The Moment”
Swimming Upstream
This morning George joined me in the bedroom after painting all night. We stood at the window and watched the sunrise. “There’s only one owl,” I whispered. “Maybe they split up,” he replied. But we both knew better. -from The Other Side of the Painting We wanted to see the bears.Continue reading “Swimming Upstream”
Choo Choo Ch’Boogie (An Adventure)
Last year I often found George Rodrigue in his studio in the middle of the night. He worked for weeks on the painting Choo Choo Ch’Boogie, yet instead of photographing him at his easel, I stood quietly behind and watched. (pictured: Choo Choo Ch’Boogie, 2013 by George Rodrigue, acrylic on canvas, 48×60 inches) At the time,Continue reading “Choo Choo Ch’Boogie (An Adventure)”
A Blessed Life (An Irish Angel)
Last summer was challenging, as George Rodrigue faced an advanced lung cancer diagnosis and several months of treatment in Houston. Last fall, with his disease in remission, we tied up loose ends in New Orleans and prepared for a West Coast sabbatical. This spring, we spent weeks on the road, exploring America as we’ve doneContinue reading “A Blessed Life (An Irish Angel)”
Rocky Mountain Blues
Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, George Rodrigue, like many New Orleans artists, sought temporary venues for his work. Even after the Rodrigue Gallery reopened in January 2006, it was several years before tourists returned strong to the city. Local artists depend on this exposure to sell their art. In addition, although George and I experiencedContinue reading “Rocky Mountain Blues”
Rodeo Drive
Artist George Rodrigue and I attended a rodeo in South Lake Tahoe, Nevada last weekend. The area, called Glenbrook, reminded me at first of developments like Seaside and WaterColor near my hometown of Fort Walton Beach. Although I’m fond of these ice cream colored Florida Panhandle houses, my initial comparison was a stretch, now thatContinue reading “Rodeo Drive”
America, Unexpected
Oftentimes I wince at the question, Where are you from?. Unless the person asking lives somewhere between Houston and Atlanta, they probably associate Florida with Disney World and Miami Beach— nice places, but not the Emerald Coast of my childhood. I mumble to anyone who’ll listen outside of the Gulf South that I’m sort ofContinue reading “America, Unexpected”
The Silent West
“This cloud looks like a crawfish…” …whispered artist George Rodrigue from the back door of our desert hideaway, speaking the first words from either of us in hours. Within this southern Utah escape we study the sharp edge of mountains against the bluest blue sky at day, their shadowed outline at dusk, and at night,Continue reading “The Silent West”
The Road
“What I like about the West,” said artist George Rodrigue last week as we navigated Houston rush hour traffic, “is that when you’re there, you’re by yourself.” I posted this comment on facebook, and nearly everyone mistook the meaning, assuming George referenced central California, our home for awhile, maybe as long as two years, as weContinue reading “The Road”
The American Indian in Louisiana
As George Rodrigue and I explored ancient Indian mounds in northeast Louisiana, the sun in my eyes and warm, wind-blown hair in my face, I accidentally turned to an old page in my notebook covered with scribbles from an earlier adventure. Unaware of my mistake, I wrote, Each ridge 4-6 ft high when built, 50Continue reading “The American Indian in Louisiana”
Blue Dog: A Life of Its Own
“Feel the dignity of a child. Do not feel superior to him, for you are not.” – Robert Henri It was in Hollywood, ironically, that George Rodrigue and I reflected recently on the Blue Dog in a new way. We learned of a school in southern California that used the styles of art world mastersContinue reading “Blue Dog: A Life of Its Own”
The Big Picture
As a result of last summer’s sidetrack, George Rodrigue and I missed our annual time in Carmel, California, returning just this week for a year, maybe two, as we seek something still ill-defined. We have yet to analyze his near-death experience or rather, our second chance, referring often to the excuse, “it’s still too new,”Continue reading “The Big Picture”
I’m a Writer!
“All I see is that you’re writing with a pen. Yay!!!” Author Patty Friedmann cheered the hand-written word after seeing the photo below. It was December 2010, and I scribbled on the pages of a purse-size artsy notebook, purchased annually in multiples from the Morgan Library museum shop. George Rodrigue photographed me as I satContinue reading “I’m a Writer!”
Cow Dogs
Every once in a while a new silkscreen provokes a collective gasp— from our staff, from collectors, even from George Rodrigue himself, as though surprised by his own artwork. It first happened in 1991 with Starry, Starry Eyes, then in 1995 with Party Animal (a Mardi Gras tribute), and again in 2002 with over-sized motorcycleContinue reading “Cow Dogs”
A Star-spangled Blue Dog (from Houston)
Happy 4th of July! It’s an odd one, this middle of the week celebration, but perhaps that awkward timing renews enthusiasm, as folks have big plans, including barbeques and neighborhood parties despite the hottest summer on record. We spied decorations in unexpected places, and for the first time ever received gifts and cards as weContinue reading “A Star-spangled Blue Dog (from Houston)”
Match Race
“The straight sprints raced in heats or in match races where the two riders would balance for long seconds on their machines for the advantage of making the other rider take the lead and then the slow circling and the final plunge into the driving purity of speed.” –Ernest Hemingway* Because life intended it thisContinue reading “Match Race”
Happy Father’s Day, George!
I’ve written before about brothers André and Jacques Rodrigue. George painted his boys many times, and the paintings, including Kiss Me I’m Cajun with André and Paint Me Back Into Your Life with Jacques, are classics among his oeuvre. (For a look at those iconic works, along with a collection of family photographs, see theContinue reading “Happy Father’s Day, George!”
Risky Business
“It is a dangerous business going out your front door.”* This morning I watched from my desk in Carmel Valley, California as a great-horned owl took a bath. It glanced at me, assessed the danger, and then continued, even as I eased open the glass door and stepped into the rain, camera ready. We allContinue reading “Risky Business”
Farewell to Exhibitions; Welcome to Painting
George Rodrigue and I spent much of the past eighteen months on the road visiting museums and communities for exhibitions, lectures, and education events coordinated by the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts (GRFA) and the New Orleans Museum of Art, which organized the tour as part of its 100th birthday celebration. Locations included BatonContinue reading “Farewell to Exhibitions; Welcome to Painting”
A Cajun in California
It was ten years ago that George Rodrigue built his studio in the hills of Carmel Valley, California. Since that time, although we live most of the year in New Orleans, ninety percent of his work comes from this peaceful home on the West Coast, an escape from everything but nature and painting. -click photosContinue reading “A Cajun in California”
Looking for Summer Shade
Update 7/20/2012: Another hot summer, this one spent unexpectedly in Houston, Texas, finds us missing our annual cross country drive once again. Unlike last year’s Louisiana exhibitions, however, this year we look forward to Blue Dogs in Texas, opening August 10th at the Amarillo Museum of Art, continuing until October 14, 2012. Contact the museumContinue reading “Looking for Summer Shade”
Happy Birthday, Tennessee
“They told me to take a streetcar named Desire, and transfer to one called Cemeteries, and ride six blocks and get off at – Elysian Fields!” –Blanche DuBois, T.W. I cannot remember a time that I existed unaware of Tennessee Williams. And yet, the truth is that I discovered him like a déjà vu onlyContinue reading “Happy Birthday, Tennessee”
Motorcycles (The Blue Dog Hog)
Although not a rider himself, George Rodrigue relates to the seduction of the open road and the notion of freedom and Americana attached to motorcycles. Twice each year we cross the country in our truck, no books or computers allowed, so that we experience the West without distractions. We keep the music to a minimum,Continue reading “Motorcycles (The Blue Dog Hog)”
A Winter Adventure: Trapped in Gallup, Freed by a Meteor’s Crater
Not since I was a child at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany* have I seen snow like we saw this week. Along with our friends Barbara and Tony Ricciardi of Carmel, California (who you might remember from our recent brush with death, “Swamp Women”), we traveled a short two hundred miles in a longContinue reading “A Winter Adventure: Trapped in Gallup, Freed by a Meteor’s Crater”
Rodrigue vs. O’Keeffe: Choosing Magnus and Murphy Over the Great Modernist Painter
It’s a snowy day in Santa Fe at last. George Rodrigue and I made the most of this past week’s clear weather, however, spending a day exploring an ancient turquoise mine owned by our friend Doug Magnus, a jeweler and artist in the area. …And another day within the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. Once again, asContinue reading “Rodrigue vs. O’Keeffe: Choosing Magnus and Murphy Over the Great Modernist Painter”
New York Art in West Texas
I could spend the rest of my life traveling and writing about the West. That’s what I thought to myself as I sat with George Rodrigue in a café in Marfa, Texas and watched the barbershop across the street. The barber, visible past a single strand of colored lights and his barber’s pole, shaved hisContinue reading “New York Art in West Texas”
Santa Claus: Paintings and Sculptures Inspired by the Season
In 1979 George Rodrigue painted his four-year old son André with Santa Claus. As with most of his Cajun paintings, he manipulated a photograph to suit his needs, in this case cutting the figures out of the staged snapshot and placing them outside. André posed with Santa not beneath an oak tree, but at AcadianaContinue reading “Santa Claus: Paintings and Sculptures Inspired by the Season”
Artist Friends: A Pilgrimage
“… a sweep of red carnelian-colored hills lying at the foot of the mountains came into view; they curved like two arms about a depression in the plain; and in that depression was Santa Fe, at last!”* This month we crossed the country for the second time this year, unable to resist the American WestContinue reading “Artist Friends: A Pilgrimage”
A Big Dog in Texas
“This is where we lose the mountains,” George Rodrigue observed about sixty miles west of Amarillo. We’re crossing Texas again, the return trip of a journey begun in June. Unlike the drive west through Houston and Fort Stockton, we’re traveling the northern route, passing some of our favorite sites including Graffiti (1974), ten buried cadillacsContinue reading “A Big Dog in Texas”
Cloud Illusions
I watched the sunrise this morning over New Mexico from the window of our adobe hotel room in downtown Santa Fe. The storms skirted us all week, and the clouds enhance the orange light as it stretches from behind the fugacious masses, so unlike the clouds in a Rodrigue painting. I’m reminded instead of theContinue reading “Cloud Illusions”
The American Blue Dog
If you follow this blog, you have a good understanding of the Blue Dog’s history (and if you don’t, check out the links under ‘Popular Musings’ to the right of this post). From the loup-garou to Tiffany to Blue Dog Man and the Abstract, the image has developed in style and meaning along with GeorgeContinue reading “The American Blue Dog”
The American Cajun
For many years the Cajun’s identity was an ambivalent one. As recently as the 1970s, the label ‘Cajun’ was considered by many to be an insult. George Rodrigue’s own mother, in fact, was quick to point out her distaste for this aspect of George’s work, a twenty-five year dedication on his part: “You’re French! WhyContinue reading “The American Cajun”
Alligator Crossing
It’s ironic. In south Louisiana, where alligators actually do cross the road (or the levee or the yard or the bayou), there’s no warning. However, in Carmel Valley, California, where the possibility is, okay, impossible, you’re warned just in case. I guess this makes sense if you consider the context. A Cajun lives in thisContinue reading “Alligator Crossing”
Lost Within Rothko and Rodrigue
We all feel helpless at times, unable to fight our will, acting in ways we know we shouldn’t. My compulsion is particularly unfortunate, because it puts pressure on my husband to appease a request, one I’ve hounded him about for years: “Paint me a Rothko.” How insulting is that? Very. I ask George Rodrigue, anContinue reading “Lost Within Rothko and Rodrigue”
America the Beautiful (Crossing New Mexico and Arizona)
“All men were made by the Great Spirit Chief. They are all brothers.” Chief Joseph It was in a college class called ‘Religion and Social Issues’ that I first read Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (1970, Dee Brown), a book that sunk my sheltered self into a depression I had not known since readingContinue reading “America the Beautiful (Crossing New Mexico and Arizona)”
Crossing West Texas (and the Moo-Cow Blues)
“You just can’t live in Texas unless you’ve got a lot of soul.” – Waylon Jennings I believe the hype: Texas is bigger and better than anyplace else. As we drive I-10 and listen to ‘Willie’s Place’ on Sirius Radio, I enjoy the long stretches of flat land and occasional hills, the seemingly abandoned towns,Continue reading “Crossing West Texas (and the Moo-Cow Blues)”
The Land of Enchantment
Ever since losing our mother, Mignon, my sister and I take a week in the spring just for us. We should have done it years ago, with her, but now instead we travel together with her diaries and her memory, painting our fingernails purple and normalizing our eccentricities, making them near trendy, because crazy seemsContinue reading “The Land of Enchantment”
Rosalea Murphy, the Pink Adobe, and Paintings of Evergreen Lake
“She hates women.” That’s the first thing George Rodrigue told me about Rosalea Murphy. He met her thirty years ago in Santa Fe, New Mexico at a gallery show of his Cajun paintings. They became close friends, and through her he met a slew of artists, actors, and musicians, a number of which he remainsContinue reading “Rosalea Murphy, the Pink Adobe, and Paintings of Evergreen Lake”
Contemporary Art, Chefs, Fashion, and Scouting (in Las Vegas?)
George Rodrigue has epiphanies at the strangest times. He’s written movie scripts on airplane sick bags, designed cars in the middle of the night, and composed country western songs while changing light bulbs. Yesterday he emerged from the shower with a declaration: “I know why the general public can’t relate to contemporary art.” Then heContinue reading “Contemporary Art, Chefs, Fashion, and Scouting (in Las Vegas?)”
Early Oak Trees and a Regrettable Self-Portrait
It was on the long drives back from The Art Center College of Design in California that George Rodrigue developed his style. He’d been thinking about it for some time – about how different South Louisiana is from other places, as well as the eighteen hundred miles of cities and countryside and Americans he passedContinue reading “Early Oak Trees and a Regrettable Self-Portrait”