Those of you who follow this blog know that over the past six years (goodness…..six years….) and more than 300 essays, I focus on text, with quotes from George, and a careful complement of photographs and paintings. However, after spending a whirlwind week in Louisiana, I’m ready to post quickly and then get on withContinue reading “Rodrigue Comes Home”
Category Archives: Jacques
Rodrigue Honored Tonight
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”
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”
My Blues Brothers
George Rodrigue has painted several versions of the Blues Brothers since 1995. Although all in private collections, the paintings from this series are among his most popular, famous within the pages of art books and as reproductions on the walls of the Blue Dog Café in Lafayette, Louisiana and Besh Steakhouse at Harrah’s Casino in NewContinue reading “My Blues Brothers”
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”
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”
Life Lessons and an Art Contest
George Rodrigue entered two art contests in his life and failed at both. By ‘failed,’ I’m not talking about losses, but more significant that he was disqualified or learned a hard lesson about cheating. “Nothing in life is fair,” my mother used to say, and maybe she was right. But in the end perhaps that’sContinue reading “Life Lessons and an Art Contest”
Starry Starry Eyes: A Runaway Hit
In 1991 George Rodrigue’s printed artwork bolted forward with new color and precision as he applied the latest in ink and technology to his silkscreens. This was a substantial advancement over his earlier Cajun posters and Blue Dog silkscreens. For the first time he created complex original print designs using intense hues. Prior to theContinue reading “Starry Starry Eyes: A Runaway Hit”
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!”
Crawfish Dreams and Artist Friends
George Rodrigue loves crawfish primarily as a symbol of Cajun culture. The shellfish itself is deadly to him, inducing a closed throat and limited breathing. “Soon after I did my crawfish festival poster, I developed practically overnight an allergy to crawfish. Even the smell of the boil leaves me wheezing and my wife running forContinue reading “Crawfish Dreams and Artist Friends”
Blue Dog and Intellectual Property (Guest Blog Entry)
Guest blog entry by Jacques Rodrigue, George Rodrigue’s son. He currently serves as House Counsel for Rodrigue Studio and Executive Director of the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts. He is a graduate of Tulane Law School in New Orleans. Greetings everyone! Jacques Rodrigue here. Wendy is taking a much-deserved break this week from bloggingContinue reading “Blue Dog and Intellectual Property (Guest Blog Entry)”
Painting Like a Child… Again
“Creating art in a childlike manner means to be simple and direct, resulting in immediate imagery.” –George Rodrigue Since founding the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts (GRFA) in 2009, George Rodrigue has visited dozens of schools and thousands of children across Louisiana, Northwest Florida and Little Rock, Arkansas.* Through GRFA he fulfills his needContinue reading “Painting Like a Child… Again”
LSU Football: A Personal History
I attended a small college, Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. In the mid-1980s we had maybe two thousand students. Although we had a football team, I don’t recall any games. We had a Greek system, but I evaded that as well, opting instead for extra classes and the AIDS suicide hotline. In short, IContinue reading “LSU Football: A Personal History”
The Spirit of the Next Hero
“I’m a naïve surrealist,” said George Rodrigue in 1985, “not a sports artist.” This week George Rodrigue unveils his large-scale painting The Spirit of the Next Hero, on view for the first time since he painted it in 1985 as the official poster for the National Sports Festival, an annual event renamed the U.S. OlympicContinue reading “The Spirit of the Next Hero”
Musings of Heather the Great (an Artist’s Sister-in-Law)
My sister, Heather Wolfe Parker, a.k.a. ‘Heather T. Great,’ (her title since grade school), steps in as a guest-blogger this week- “Hello?” “Hey George! It’s your sister.” “Who?” (pictured above, my son Wyatt, me, my dad, George) It’s the same ol’ dull routine each time I phone. Poor George has been bludgeoned by the forceContinue reading “Musings of Heather the Great (an Artist’s Sister-in-Law)”
Art Abounds
“Cracklins are the purest form of pork; minimalist pork, if you will.” –Doug MacCash* Art abounds at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and on the streets of New York City. If we pay attention, art abounds in life. “Look around this room,” I hear George Rodrigue tell students during school visits. “Everything youContinue reading “Art Abounds”
Monroe (that’s MUN-roe), Louisiana
Until recently I thought I understood Louisiana, its ins and outs, its people, its terrain, and its history. Yet we spent much of this past week in northeast Louisiana, and I found town after town unfamiliar, including our destination, Monroe, a city of cypress groves, 60,000 people, and tremendous state pride, located 270 miles northContinue reading “Monroe (that’s MUN-roe), Louisiana”
The Ghost of Christmas Past
I try and, honestly, fail to imagine 1950s New Iberia, Louisiana. I’ve stared at this photograph for hours, a six-year old George Rodrigue dressed as a cowboy on Christmas morning, an only child surrounded by symbols of the time: a Radio Flyer red wagon; promotional Coca-Cola Santa Clauses (in multiples because his dad traded themContinue reading “The Ghost of Christmas Past”
The Family Portrait
Although George Rodrigue admitted to himself only recently that he is an effective portrait artist, he has painted both real and imaginary figures for forty years, accepting commissions for family portraits since the early 1970s. For the family portrait he feels pressured to please everyone from Great Aunt Marie to Baby Hebert with regards toContinue reading “The Family Portrait”
Blonde
Reflections On an Insane Yet Wonderful Week “How long were we gone?” asked George Rodrigue. “A week?” “More like 48 hours,” I replied… …as we recalled our visit to Little Rock, Arkansas last weekend, where we raised funds and awareness for arts education through events for the Thea Foundation and the George Rodrigue Foundation ofContinue reading “Blonde”
The Ragin’ Cajun (The Art of the Trade)
Granted I’m biased, however I’ve witnessed over the years that most people, men and women, find George Rodrigue downright charming. It’s something about that Cajun accent combined with the Snagglepuss laugh and his down-to-earth demeanor that reels in both friends and strangers alike. This is a handy character trait regarding his business. For years GeorgeContinue reading “The Ragin’ Cajun (The Art of the Trade)”
The Blue Cat
It may surprise you to know that we do not have a dog. In fact, George Rodrigue has not had a dog since Tiffany, an unwitting participant in the Blue Dog Series, died in 1980. He’s had several dogs over his lifetime, beginning with Lady and Trixie in 1950s New Iberia. However, it’s never beenContinue reading “The Blue Cat”
The Painting in the Closet
It’s a common misconception that George Rodrigue intends all of his art for sale, or at least for public display. If he manufactured tennis shoes, this might make sense, and indeed because George makes a living with his art, it is true that most works do end up with a price tag. However, this commercialismContinue reading “The Painting in the Closet”
A Gallery of His Own (A Woolf Inspires a Wolfe)
“Be truthful one would say, and the result is bound to be amazingly interesting.”* From day one, from his return to Louisiana from art school in Los Angeles in the late 1960s, George Rodrigue wanted one thing: to make a living as an artist. However, he never imagined that selling his art would be up to him.Continue reading “A Gallery of His Own (A Woolf Inspires a Wolfe)”
The Jazz Fest Poster: Part 2
With this post, George and I remember Mrs. Frances Fernandez, long-time President and Board member of the New Orleans Jazz Club, who dedicated her life to the appreciation of New Orleans’s jazz musicians. We also remember Bill Hemmerling, a beloved local artist who painted the 2005 poster for the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.Continue reading “The Jazz Fest Poster: Part 2”
Rabbits and Chickens In (and Out) of Rodrigue Paintings
George Rodrigue’s sense of play spills over from his life into his art. Even in his Cajun paintings, which many consider to be his ‘serious work,’ he plays jokes on the public, entertaining himself and his audience with absurd subject matter, scale, and titles. The truth, however, is that when it comes to the actualContinue reading “Rabbits and Chickens In (and Out) of Rodrigue Paintings”
Catholic High, Brother Edward, and the Art Scholarship
George Rodrigue, known as ‘Big Rod’ to his teenage peers, graduated from Catholic High School in New Iberia, Louisiana in 1962, along with thirty-two classmates. They have an annual reunion in someone’s backyard (BYObeer), women not permitted. This is a group of guys that remembers a time when “if you could drive, you could drink,”Continue reading “Catholic High, Brother Edward, and the Art Scholarship”
If Not Painting, Then Cars…
We had dated about a year when George Rodrigue and I had our first fight. I had just visited him in Lafayette, Louisiana, where we cruised along the Atchafalaya Basin levees one moonlit night in his prized possession – a black Mercedes SL Convertible hard-top. A month later, as we drove down a Carmel, CaliforniaContinue reading “If Not Painting, Then Cars…”
The Name ‘Rodrigue’ with Pronunciation and a Bit of History
The name ‘Rodrigue’ is a common one in Cajun country. However, outside the southern part of his home state, George Rodrigue endures miss-pronunciations and miss-spellings on a regular basis. Most of the time, people say or spell the name ‘Rodriguez.’ A close second is ‘Rodrique’ (with a ‘q’ in place of the ‘g’). And barContinue reading “The Name ‘Rodrigue’ with Pronunciation and a Bit of History”
A Happiness Epidemic (Saints Fever)
There are a million articles and comments out there that cover this occasion so well that I’m moved to tears with every read-through, and I’ve struggled to find my own voice for a post. I cannot share even these few words from Saints team owner Tom Benson without crying: “New Orleans is back. And nowContinue reading “A Happiness Epidemic (Saints Fever)”
Who Dat! …. Plus Voodoo, Cow Heads, and DC Mardi Gras
I awoke at 5:30 this morning to the screams of “Who Dat!” hollered from our sidewalk as though I were Stella herself giving up on the half sleep that comes from tumultuous relationships and reignited passion. I awoke in a city blissfully plagued with hangovers and swollen eyes and strained vocal chords. (Maybe you didContinue reading “Who Dat! …. Plus Voodoo, Cow Heads, and DC Mardi Gras”
The Art Business, A Few Thoughts
Written in response to questions about the art business from artists and their partners, especially Joey, who wrote in this week- When I think back twenty years on the early days of working in the galleries in New Orleans and Carmel, California, I remember the frustration of wanting to do things a certain way butContinue reading “The Art Business, A Few Thoughts”
Blue Dog Man, 1996- 1999
Maybe it’s Diana Krall singing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” or maybe it’s the lights on our turquoise tree, or maybe it’s this stormy New Orleans afternoon, but something has made me sentimental in thinking back on what I like to call the ‘Blue Dog Man’ years, 1996-1999. It was during this time thatContinue reading “Blue Dog Man, 1996- 1999”
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”
André and Jacques: The Rodrigue Brothers
George Rodrigue has two sons, André (born 1975) and Jacques (born 1981). They are as accustomed to the question “Do you paint?” as I am, maybe more; however, neither one followed in their dad’s artistic footsteps. Over the years George has painted his boys many times. Kiss Me, I’m Cajun, featuring André, is probably theContinue reading “André and Jacques: The Rodrigue Brothers”
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?)”
Eisenhower and Higgins: A New Historical Painting
How do I explain a painting rooted in war? How does someone like me write about it in such a way that doesn’t offend the anti-war Americans (a position I respect immensely), or the veterans (a position I also respect immensely), but rather expresses pride for our country and compassion for our fellow human beings?Continue reading “Eisenhower and Higgins: A New Historical Painting”
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”