“In Art, the more personal you become, the better you become.” George Rodrigue as I wrote his words in my journal, 6/30/11 Years ago, George’s and my publishing agent, Roz Cole, pushed me to write a book she called, How to Love.* At the time, I humored her by considering it, but I deferred toContinue reading “Bodies”
Category Archives: Bodies
I’ve Moved! Please Join Me!
Dear Rodrigue Friends and Fans, It was 10 years ago that I started, with George’s encouragement, “Musings of an Artist’s Wife.” Today, it’s time for a change. The more than 300 essays highlighting George Rodrigue’s history, artwork, and our life together will remain posted here as a permanent reference. All new posts, however, are inContinue reading “I’ve Moved! Please Join Me!”
Saints on the Bayou
“As I grow older, my mind expands. I suspend reality on my canvas with greater confidence, exploring not just the trees and grass, but also the mysterious and the mystical.”-George Rodrigue, 2012 (Saints on the Bayou, 2009 by George Rodrigue, now available as a fine art print; click the photo to enlarge this beautiful lateContinue reading “Saints on the Bayou”
The Lone Artist
“The artist is involved with art as a way of life.”* George Rodrigue and I discuss often the definition of art. We study the roles of craft, commercialism, high and low art, concluding always that there is no definitive answer, but that the fun —indeed the tradition— lies in the debates. Ideally, art reflects theContinue reading “The Lone Artist”
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”
A Cajun in Carmel
Blue Dog artist George Rodrigue finds inspiration on the Monterey Peninsula- It was twenty-two years ago that artist George Rodrigue (b. 1944) opened his gallery in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. One of only two locations* in the country, the artist-owned Rodrigue Studio operates the same way today as it did years ago. Despite Rodrigue’s increasing fame, heContinue reading “A Cajun in Carmel”
Going Home Again….for Art
In 1952 in New Iberia, Louisiana, George Rodrigue (b. 1944) remained sick in bed for six months. I explained this week to a group of young students on the Florida Panhandle that he suffered from polio, a contagious disease affecting his ability to walk. He couldn’t attend school or play outside. Imagine poor little George withoutContinue reading “Going Home Again….for Art”
Blue Fall in Louisiana
“When they showed me my body, it was blue,” explained George Rodrigue to a friend this week. “Nothing dark, no patches, they were all gone.” I overheard him on the phone and my ears picked up, not because I hadn’t seen the scan, but because I hadn’t thought of his body as blue, and IContinue reading “Blue Fall in Louisiana”
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”
Gator Aid (Nude Swamp Women)
George Rodrigue and I are in Las Vegas this weekend, enjoying a three-day vacation before the much-anticipated, happy chaos of the upcoming Baton Rouge exhibition, opening July 23rd with a series of events at the Louisiana State University Museum of Art. For that reason, I’m keeping my blog light-and-easy, with mostly pictures and a fewContinue reading “Gator Aid (Nude Swamp Women)”
Nature Girl (The Art of Modeling) G-RATED
(Note: For Facebook, I’ve amended the ‘Modeling’ post of 9/21/10, removing any images related to nudes. For further information, see the bottom of this post.) Griping about the challenges of modeling is humiliating, so I won’t do it. I mean, a model lies on a chaise lounge or perches on a stool or strolls towardsContinue reading “Nature Girl (The Art of Modeling) G-RATED”
Nature Girl (The Art of Modeling)
Griping about the challenges of modeling is humiliating, so I won’t do it. I mean, a model lies on a chaise lounge or perches on a stool or strolls towards the camera wearing costumes, beautiful clothes, or occasionally nothing at all. It’s ridiculously easy, right? Just last weekend, however, as I headed towards a previouslyContinue reading “Nature Girl (The Art of Modeling)”
The Nude Figure
As a student, it was important to George Rodrigue to learn the fundamentals of art. He grew frustrated early on with his college education, a 1960s academic art world rooted in the abstract, as opposed to classical notions of compositional design, chiaroscuro (play of light and dark), and an accurate study of the human figure.Continue reading “The Nude Figure”
Blue Dog Today: An Interview with George Rodrigue
Every few weeks I devote a blog to the Blue Dog Story, from its loup-garou beginning in 1984, and on to Tiffany, Absolut and Xerox, Blue Dog Man, Sculptures, Red Dog, and Silkscreens. I last wrote about the Abstract Paintings of 2001-2003, and I’m a bit lost as to how to move forward. To assessContinue reading “Blue Dog Today: An Interview with George Rodrigue”
Hurricanes, A Series of Paintings
By late summer 2002 George Rodrigue and I lived most of the time in Carmel, California. We placed our house on the market in Lafayette, Louisiana, but still spent time there on occasion as we waited for a buyer. By coincidence, we were in Lafayette for Hurricane Lili. I recall an argument with George aboutContinue reading “Hurricanes, A Series of Paintings”
From Jolie Blonde to Bodies: Paintings of Women
According to local legend, in the 1920s a Cajun imprisoned in Port Arthur, Texas pined for his lost love, his beautiful blonde, his “Jolie Blonde,” and wrote a waltz from those feelings of longing. Over the years the song became for many the Cajun anthem based on a sort of modern day Evangeline, and CajunContinue reading “From Jolie Blonde to Bodies: Paintings of Women”
Portraits: The Kingfish and Uncle Earl
For years George tried to convince me that he is not a portrait painter. He explained that others paint with far more skill in interpreting likenesses, and that he used his models as just that, models. If he paints Jolie Blonde, in other words, it’s not about the person posing, but rather about the legend.Continue reading “Portraits: The Kingfish and Uncle Earl”
Oil Paint or Acrylic?
After experimenting in art school with several mediums, including designer colors, pastel, water color, and chalk, George Rodrigue settled on oil paint to create his dark landscapes of Louisiana oak trees in 1969. In those days money was a real concern, and he was aware that each stroke of his brush equated to less paintContinue reading “Oil Paint or Acrylic?”
Tombs in the Life and Art of George Rodrigue
It’s Halloween, which makes me think of skeletons and vampires and okay, pumpkins and candy, but those don’t apply here, which makes me think of cemeteries and caskets, which makes me think of George Rodrigue’s unusual to my mind and on-going interest in tombs. As I mentioned briefly in my last post, George’s father wasContinue reading “Tombs in the Life and Art of George Rodrigue”