“I never thought before that I was interesting, but after talking with you, I realize that I’m fascinating!” –Roz Cole In September 2013 I spent several weeks in a New York City hospital room with George Rodrigue’s longtime literary agent, Rosalind Cole. Weak from his medication’s side effects, George couldn’t travel, and I remember wellContinue reading “Magic People”
Category Archives: WENDY’S FAVORITES
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”
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”
Dance with Me, George!
“What do you do here?” ….asked George Jones of George Rodrigue at a Lafayette, Louisiana Mercedes dealership, as Jones shopped a new car and Rodrigue awaited repairs on his 1978 diesel station wagon. “I’m an artist,” he replied. “Oh yeah?” said Jones. “What do you sing?” Rodrigue recalls the countryContinue reading “Dance with Me, George!”
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 Lost Painting (Festivals Acadiens)
In this computer age, Rodrigue Studio retains detailed records of art purchases, occasionally borrowing paintings from collectors for public exhibition. However, prior to the late 1990s, records were partial, hand-kept and often lost. People move, and paintings sell or pass to descendants. Some works exchange hands through private sale, and unless the art appears atContinue reading “The Lost Painting (Festivals Acadiens)”
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!”
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”
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”