Category Archives: Other Artists

Priceless Puppies

It was twenty years ago, while halfway joking, that I surprised George Rodrigue with a white porcelain vase produced by artist Jeff Koons of his 3-D artwork, Puppy.  George was unreserved in his criticism of Koons, and yet I also sensed his fascination with the artist who, among other things, fetches millions of dollars forContinue reading “Priceless Puppies”

Walk With Me to the Future

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”

Life and Legacy

George Rodrigue’s life, art, and philanthropy touch lives every day. In a reality that, from my perspective, is both exhilarating and unsettling, I see him moving into near-mythic status, grouped in art lessons with Van Gogh, Picasso, and Matisse.  I’ve always known that he belongs with these artists —Modernist giants whose output enriches our world,Continue reading “Life and Legacy”

Rodrigue Jewelry

George first created jewelry in the 1970s, hand-forming designs in clay from his images of Oak Trees and Jolie Blonde, which he reinterpreted as solid gold pendants.  Later he made for himself one-of-a-kind Mardi Gras coins featuring elements from his paintings, also in gold, and embellished with precious stones. In the 1980s George met DouglasContinue reading “Rodrigue Jewelry”

George Rodrigue: “Fun for Me”

As Rodrigue Studio celebrates its 25th year in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, I’ve reluctantly stared memories hard in the face, piecing together, without George, a history that’s all about George.  As is the case throughout his life, a central aspect of the story exists within his artwork. “It’s got to be fun for me, or I don’tContinue reading “George Rodrigue: “Fun for Me””

Magic People

“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”

Circle of Life: Round Paintings

As I understand it, the bright-colored mandala represents the universe; its creation in sand and its inevitable destruction represent the impermanence of life.* Some years ago I asked George Rodrigue if he would paint, for me, a meditative symbol.  He replied, naturally… “I already have.” (pictured: Circle of Life, 2002, an original silkscreen by George Rodrigue,Continue reading “Circle of Life: Round Paintings”

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”

Cora’s Restaurant and CODOFIL

In 1968 attorney and former Louisiana State Senator and U.S. Representative Jimmy Domengeaux* (1907-1988) of Lafayette founded the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana, known as CODOFIL. Impressed with the initiative, Louisiana Governor John McKeithen pushed through a bill that granted the organization the necessary state credentials. (pictured:  In 1912 Louisiana Governor HallContinue reading “Cora’s Restaurant and CODOFIL”

Rembrandt: A Memory

In the summer of 2005, George Rodrigue and I visited Amsterdam.  Rembrandt’s house was recently opened to the public.  Because he declared bankruptcy, a detailed list exists of his 1656 belongings, enabling today’s historians to replace every furnishing, fossil, and vase from his vast collections. Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) was an art rock star, bothContinue reading “Rembrandt: A Memory”

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”

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”

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”

Absolut Blue Dog

It’s twenty-five years since George Rodrigue last drank alcohol,* and yet he was part of one of the most successful stories in advertising history, promoting a vodka. “Even when I did drink,” laughs the artist, “it was always bourbon or wine.  I never liked vodka.” (pictured, Absolut Rodrigue, 1993, one of three paintings created byContinue reading “Absolut Blue Dog”

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”

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!”

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 Other Side of the Painting

Oftentimes it takes others to point out our achievements.  What begins as small and for oneself can become something else.  George Rodrigue paints today with confidence, sure of both his brushstrokes and direction.  His paintings are steps towards expounding his vision, whether within a specific series or his career’s oeuvre. But this was not alwaysContinue reading “The Other Side of the Painting”

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”

Some Like It Hot

George Rodrigue’s newest artwork, Some Like It Hot, pays tribute to Marilyn Monroe, a golden icon of the silver screen and public fantasy.  He frames her with a bold design of color and shape, including his own icons, the Blue and Red Dogs. (pictured, Some Like It Hot, 2012 by George Rodrigue, 26×40 inches, silkscreenContinue reading “Some Like It Hot”

The Patchwork Gift

In 1978 George Rodrigue tackled a 5×7 foot canvas, piecing together a group of women at a church quilting party, a common Acadian gathering during the 1940s and 1950s.  The ambitious project includes twenty figures, including a portrait of the painting’s new owner with her child, all gathered beneath Rodrigue’s typical Louisiana oaks. -click photoContinue reading “The Patchwork Gift”

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”

Harouni Paints Rodrigue

Recently artist David Harouni painted a portrait of George Rodrigue, a special request by mutual friends Kerry and Tiffa Boutte of New Orleans.  Known for his powerful painted Heads, usually his own, Harouni traces his life’s journey, the imprints of memory and experience, layering and scraping paint in a process both concealing and revealing. BornContinue reading “Harouni Paints Rodrigue”

Painting (and Living?) Again

George Rodrigue and I returned to New Orleans early August as though our old lives were a dream. It’s hard to believe we threw parties in this house, I mused, as we settled into our sofa and BBC television. “I barely remember going out to dinner,” countered George. Meanwhile, artist Glenda Banta asked me on-lineContinue reading “Painting (and Living?) Again”

Success

This week I read Just Kids, poet/rocker Patti Smith’s personal account of life with her closest friend, artist/photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.  I had planned an essay on Louisiana’s Legends, a series of portraits completed by George Rodrigue for Public Broadcasting between 1990 and 1993, but after finishing Smith’s memoir late Thursday night, I suffered Friday aContinue reading “Success”

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”

Clifton Chenier and a Cajun Explosion

In 1985 George Rodrigue painted the great musician Clifton Chenier (1925-1987).  At the time, Chenier was world-famous, crowned a Grammy Award winner in 1983 and summoned everywhere from San Francisco to Switzerland to share his unique Louisiana sound. Rodrigue’s timing in painting the portrait honors Chenier not only for his music, but also for hisContinue reading “Clifton Chenier and a Cajun Explosion”

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”

Rodrigue’s Bicentennial Poster

George Rodrigue painted the Aioli Dinner in 1971 based on photographs of a gourmet dinner club, the Creole Gourmet Society.  This was his first painting with people, and during the six months that he painted their portraits and a landscape on this single canvas, he developed a style uniquely his own and recognizable today, fortyContinue reading “Rodrigue’s Bicentennial Poster”

Museum News (Rodrigue on the Walls)

Updated with additional exhibitions, August 1, 2012- If you were lucky enough to see the Rodrigue retrospective exhibitions in 2007 in Memphis and 2008 in New Orleans, then you know the power of such shows.  For those who sought the Blue Dog, the Cajuns and Portraits piqued their interest, as they learned of Rodrigue’s twenty-fiveContinue reading “Museum News (Rodrigue on the Walls)”

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)”

The Human in the Painting

“She was like a woman of Leonardo da Vinci’s, whom we love not so much for herself as for the things that she will not tell us.” –Cecil Vyse, A Room with a View by E.M. Forster, 1908 Certain paintings, particularly a certain era of paintings, transport us, if we let them, to another ageContinue reading “The Human in the Painting”

Moonstruck, Madame Butterfly and the Mudlark

“Bring me the big knife; I’m gonna cut my throat!”* Several nights ago, as we walked in a chilly, blowing drizzle across the street from the Metropolitan Opera, I stopped, even as the crosswalk sign suggested we proceed. “What are you doing?” asked George Rodrigue, as I explained that I saw Cher in my head,Continue reading “Moonstruck, Madame Butterfly and the Mudlark”

Our Anniversary

Fifteen years ago today, George Rodrigue and I married beneath a Louisiana live oak, the same Evangeline-style tree he’s painted for years, in Rip Van Winkle Gardens at Jefferson Island, Louisiana.  It was a stormy day, and yet the sun emerged just long enough, as we exchanged our vows.  “It seems like yesterday,” said George’sContinue reading “Our Anniversary”

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”

The Working Artist

Note:  Throughout this post I sprinkled images by Louisiana artists.  Some I interviewed and some not, but all are included in the book The Bicentennial History of Art in Louisiana.*  As I wrote, I thought of the text and images as two separate statements, not necessarily related.  In other words, unless specifically noted, all artistContinue reading “The Working Artist”

I Ain’t No Cartoon Dog

The Blue Dog is not a cartoon.  It is a shape that interacts with other shapes, not characters, all according to George Rodrigue’s artistic eye. There are no speech bubbles coming from its mouth.  Although it delivers a message, its exchange is a silent and mysterious communication between its golden saucers and our eyes. (pictured,Continue reading “I Ain’t No Cartoon Dog”

Go North (to Shreveport) and Learn

Shreveport often gets a bum rap.  “It’s east Texas,” claim many, as though that’s a bad thing.  This Red River city fights for not only Louisiana’s embrace, but also the South’s. And yet Shreveport, along with nearby north Louisiana cities such as Natchitoches and Bossier City, cheers on the Saints and LSU.  They talk aboutContinue reading “Go North (to Shreveport) and Learn”

An Artist’s Wife ( … okay, now on facebook)

“To be an enthusiast had become her social vocation and, sometimes even when she did not feel like it, she became enthusiastic in order not to disappoint the expectations of those who knew her.”* (pictured above and below, sharing the art of George Rodrigue with Baton Rouge students during a drawing workshop last weekend atContinue reading “An Artist’s Wife ( … okay, now on facebook)”

Chef Paul Prudhomme

If George Rodrigue has a chef’s counterpart, it’s Paul Prudhomme. They grew up in the relatively close Cajun towns of New Iberia and Opelousas, Louisiana. As young boys both pursued their passions as career goals, determined to hone their talents and define their lives with innovative, bold and personal contributions to the art of paintingContinue reading “Chef Paul Prudhomme”

White Linen Night, the Unexpected

Updated 8/1/13:  Don’t miss White Linen Night 2013 on Saturday, August 3rd, featuring the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts in the New Orleans Arts District.  Details at this link.  ….Followed by Dirty Linen Night at the Rodrigue Gallery, 730 Royal Street on Saturday, August 10th, 2013; details here. I wouldn’t exactly call it aContinue reading “White Linen Night, the Unexpected”

My Favorite Painting

The Loup-garou is my favorite painting. I first saw it on a Sunday afternoon in 1991, a day that changed my life. I walked into the Rodrigue Gallery in the French Quarter to visit a friend, the gallery manager. At the time, I worked at Ann Taylor while attending graduate school at Tulane University, and I worried as my college job morphed intoContinue reading “My Favorite Painting”

Blue Dogs, Ghost Ranch and Mrs. Wertheimer: George Rodrigue at the Alexandria Museum of Art

“She created her own world, and I created mine,” explains George Rodrigue to his audience at the Alexandria Museum of Art last week, as he nods from a New Mexico landscape (left of the podium; click photo to enlarge) to his own wet Blue Dog canvas. I made a mental note to remember the line,Continue reading “Blue Dogs, Ghost Ranch and Mrs. Wertheimer: George Rodrigue at the Alexandria Museum of Art”

The Immaculate Dog

“He was honestly shocked that he was getting paid for his art,” recalls Cindy Dore Brunet of Houston, Texas. George Rodrigue arrived at her house twenty years ago in his blue van, the back lined with freshly painted mahogany Blue Dogs, carved from George’s design by Douglas Shiell’s father, a master craftsman whose son assistsContinue reading “The Immaculate Dog”

Recalling Le Grand Dérangement…from Quebec

As my sister Heather and I travel within Quebec this week, I note a surprise within every hair-raising, lightening speed turn of our host’s, a former racecar driver’s, Hummer.  We flew (by plane) Thursday into Montreal and flew (by car) to the small village of Nominingue, where we remained two nights on a lake (anyContinue reading “Recalling Le Grand Dérangement…from Quebec”

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”

I First Loved Picasso (Again)

On March 1st, 2011, George Rodrigue and I celebrate fourteen years of marriage. He kindly insists that our gift to each other exist as a re-blog of my choice. This provides me with a week away from blogging, more time for Mardi Gras and my current obsession with Cleopatra (a new book by Stacy Schiff),Continue reading “I First Loved Picasso (Again)”

Counting on Art (and Painting by Numbers)

George Rodrigue first picked up a paintbrush in 1953 when his mother brought him the latest American craze, paint by number sets, to ease his boredom as he lie sick in bed with polio. By the early Fifties the masses saw paint by number as affordable, do-it-yourself art. But even as a young boy, GeorgeContinue reading “Counting on Art (and Painting by Numbers)”

Mardi Gras Colors on Paper

Since his earliest Cajun paintings, George Rodrigue painted the parades, costumes, and colors of Mardi Gras. Over the next six weeks (leading up to March 8th, Mardi Gras Day), I’ll explore that history within this blog, including his Cajun posters for small town Louisiana carnival traditions; twenty years of Mardi Gras Blue Dog silkscreens; photographsContinue reading “Mardi Gras Colors on Paper”

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”

The Greatest Gift

“And they sat there and they marveled And they knew they could not tell Whether it were angels, or the bright stars a singing”** I was surprised by the large and heartfelt response to the recent post “The Ghost of Christmas Past,” a story I hesitated sharing. Obviously there is something about this season thatContinue reading “The Greatest Gift”

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”

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”

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)”

There is No Bacon in Space (Having Fun Discussing Art)

For several years I hosted an art discussion group in the Rodrigue Gallery of New Orleans. Composed of gallery staff and the occasional friend or family member, we spent a few hours once each month covering everything from the latest show at MOMA to the current buzz on Julia Street. We related at least oneContinue reading “There is No Bacon in Space (Having Fun Discussing Art)”

Label Art: Paintings for Wine and Beer

For many years George Rodrigue dreamed of painting the label for the famous Bordeaux wine, Chateau Mouton Rothschild. For a man who hasn’t had a drink in twenty years, this obsession might seem strange, unless one understands the tradition behind the label. Since 1945’s “V” for “Victory” designed by Philippe Julian (above, author of TheContinue reading “Label Art: Paintings for Wine and Beer”

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)”

Eagle Scout

It was probably our first date when I asked George Rodrigue, “How would you describe yourself? What are your best qualities?” Without hesitating, he rattled off a list: “I am trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.” “Goodness,” I said, secretly hoping I could measure up. It wasn’t untilContinue reading “Eagle Scout”

Paintings for the Flora Levy Lecture Series at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Beginning in 1980 George Rodrigue painted ten portraits, one each year, honoring guest lecturers at what was then called the University of Southwest Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette). The speaker series was conceived by Professor Maurice DuQuesnay and funded by Flora Levy, a Lafayette heiress and philanthropist who left her fortune toContinue reading “Paintings for the Flora Levy Lecture Series at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette”

Blue Dog Speaks

With his Cajun works, George Rodrigue’s titles describe a scene in its simplest terms. The paintings themselves hold narratives, and their titles merely state the obvious. Louisiana Hayride (1972) Looking for Summer Shade (1973) The Aioli Dinner (1971, for a complete history of this, Rodrigue’s most famous Cajun painting, visit here) However, the Blue DogContinue reading “Blue Dog Speaks”

Louisiana Roots (The Louis Prima of the Art World)

George Rodrigue is unique in the art world. I can think of very few contemporary visual artists of his renown that define themselves by their culture. From the time he first returned to Louisiana from Los Angeles and art school in the late 1960s, he called himself a Cajun artist. Even today he describes everyContinue reading “Louisiana Roots (The Louis Prima of the Art World)”

Indiscretion (A ‘Nude’ Addendum)

This entry is a postscript to last week’s detailed trace of the development of the nude figure in Rodrigue’s paintings. “All good art is an indiscretion.”* As a kid it was my mom who explained the artistic nude to me, as perfected by Peter Paul Rubens. She owned a huge tome of his paintings, andContinue reading “Indiscretion (A ‘Nude’ Addendum)”

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”

The Collector

During the summer of 2005, George Rodrigue and I joined his collectors Chris and Don Sanders in Europe for the Venice Biennale and Art Basel. Although we attended in the past, this was our first visit with the ‘in-crowd,’ and our group consisted of major gallery owners and big time art collectors, certainly well beyondContinue reading “The Collector”

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”

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”

The Jazz Fest Poster: Part 1

In 1994 when first approached by ProCreations, the poster company for the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, George Rodrigue hesitated. “It has to be my rules,” he said: “I want to paint Louis Armstrong, and I want to paint him without the Blue Dog.” Up until this time Jazz Fest posters included only musiciansContinue reading “The Jazz Fest Poster: Part 1”

Miniatures: Manuscripts, Landscapes, Blue Dogs and Blogs

Jean de France, duc de Berry commissioned the Belles Heures, an elaborate calendar and religious volume, in 1405. Created by the German Limbourg brothers, Herman, Paul, and Jean over five years in Paris, the illuminated manuscript is a mere 9×6 inches, with many paintings no bigger than a postage stamp. My friend Emer and IContinue reading “Miniatures: Manuscripts, Landscapes, Blue Dogs and Blogs”

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”

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”

Chef Paul Prudhomme

If George Rodrigue has a chef’s counterpart, it’s Paul Prudhomme. They grew up in the relatively close Cajun towns of New Iberia and Opelousas, Louisiana. As young boys both pursued their passions as career goals, determined to hone their talents and define their lives with innovative, bold and personal contributions to the art of paintingContinue reading “Chef Paul Prudhomme”

Blue Dog: The Silkscreens

George Rodrigue’s newest silkscreen* print, We Blues Dem Away (Ain’t Dat Super) is a typical example of his print process. In recent years he uses the computer to design his silkscreens so that the print itself, as opposed to a painting, is the original work of art. (pictured, 2010, 33×26 inches, partially a benefit forContinue reading “Blue Dog: The Silkscreens”

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”

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”

I First Loved Picasso

As a kid, sometime around age twelve, I discovered my mother’s art books. She protected her prized tomes within plastic covers, locked behind the glass doors of a large, bright yellow wooden bookcase. Her collection included overviews of the Renaissance, Ancient Greece, and Lost Worlds, as well as Da Vinci, Rembrandt, Rubens, Durer, and MichelangeloContinue reading “I First Loved Picasso”

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”

Art School: Lafayette and Los Angeles, 1962-1967

When George Rodrigue entered his senior year at Catholic High School in New Iberia, Louisiana in 1961, his future, to his mind, was certain. He would go to art school and become a professional artist. His parents, however, had other ideas, determined he have something more steady than his father’s (and grandfather’s) work in brick-layingContinue reading “Art School: Lafayette and Los Angeles, 1962-1967”

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?)”

The Creative Competition in Two Parts

Part I I grew up in an artistic household in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. My parents, although originally from New Orleans, settled there when my dad was stationed at Eglin Air Force Base. In the first ten years of their marriage, they lived and traveled all over Europe and Asia with the military, and byContinue reading “The Creative Competition in Two Parts”

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”

My Favorite George Rodrigue Painting

Note:  I reworked this post in July 2011.  To see my favorite painting and George Rodrigue’s least favorite painting (pictured at the bottom of this post) in person, visit the exhibition “Blue Dogs and Cajuns on the River,” July 23 – September 18, 2011, at the Baton Rouge Museum of Art at the Shaw Center.Continue reading “My Favorite George Rodrigue Painting”

We Left Happy Children in San Jose (and Our Hearts at Mountain Winery)

To be honest, we wondered if anyone would show up at the tiny independent children’s bookstore Hicklebees in the community of Willow Glen in San Jose, California. We’d never visited the store before, and it had been years since we’d had a book event on the West Coast. So imagine our surprise when we walkedContinue reading “We Left Happy Children in San Jose (and Our Hearts at Mountain Winery)”

Seeing is Understanding

Over the years I’ve realized something about George Rodrigue that is different from any adult I’ve ever known — he sees in a unique way. On the most simplistic level, for example, he doesn’t remember telephone numbers, but rather traces patterns on a keypad. When we were looking to paint our house in Lafayette (beforeContinue reading “Seeing is Understanding”

History of an Artist?

Written after reading a recent article about a ‘discovered’ (by x-ray) N.C. Wyeth painting located underneath a later N.C. Wyeth painting (turns out he had re-used the canvas). The resulting on-line debate and discussion covered everything from illustration vs art, to the artist’s intention in covering or ‘hiding’ an earlier work, to the definition ofContinue reading “History of an Artist?”