It was while bedridden with polio that George Rodrigue (1944-2013) discovered painting. Unable to walk, and highly contagious with a disease feared by parents everywhere, he remained at home throughout much of the third grade with only his mother for company. His father, George, Sr., supported his family from the road while working as aContinue reading “Walk With Me to the Future”
Category Archives: Childhood
Ursuline-Cool! George Rodrigue Life & Legacy Visits the Historic New Orleans School
It was 1994, for my cousin’s wedding, when I last visited Ursuline Academy. That I forgot their magnificent church, The National Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, confounds me. This spring on the George Rodrigue Life & Legacy Tour, I stood both transfixed and transported within this glorious temple to God and women andContinue reading “Ursuline-Cool! George Rodrigue Life & Legacy Visits the Historic New Orleans School”
Sharing George: A Video
The Life & Legacy Tour began because I felt compelled to help others experience George Rodrigue in a more personal way. After eight months, the tour is in demand more than ever, with no end in sight! And perhaps that’s exactly as it should be. Want to know what it’s like? Here’s a video from Dr.Continue reading “Sharing George: A Video”
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”
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)”
An Exhibition from the Other Side
This month, the State Library of Louisiana premieres an exhibition based on a new Rodrigue book, The Other Side of the Painting, on view through February 2014. Unable to attend the November 2ndopening in Baton Rouge, George Rodrigue and I relied on curator Marney Robinson, who astonished us with her ability to fully utilize aContinue reading “An Exhibition from 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”
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”
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”