In 1992 George Rodrigue painted Washington Blue Dog, a tribute to the United States of America’s capitol, Washington, DC. The painting is one of his most famous. Its prints hang in the offices of Blue Dog Democrats and their affiliates, an obvious choice for the group. The original oil on canvas (48×60 inches), owned byContinue reading “Washington Blue Dog (and the Blue Dog Democrats)”
Category Archives: Presidential Portraits
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”
Clinton, Bush, and Obama: Portraits (or not)
In 1994 some connected friends with the Democratic Party invited George Rodrigue to meet President Bill Clinton. George invited me along and, truth be told, I was more excited about meeting Hillary. My mom worked at a printing company at the time, and she and her friend Bronwen Ross created personalized note cards for theContinue reading “Clinton, Bush, and Obama: Portraits (or not)”
Reagan, Bush, and Gorbachev: A Story
By the mid-1980s George Rodrigue had a significant national reputation as a fine artist. Ironically, although his paintings depicted the landscapes and people of South Louisiana, his work garnered little serious attention at home, where the locals associated him with festival posters and black trees. Elsewhere in the country, however, his reputation flourished, particularly followingContinue reading “Reagan, Bush, and Gorbachev: A Story”
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”
Blue Dog: In the Beginning, 1984-1989
In 1980 a Baton Rouge investment group approached George Rodrigue for help in creating a lasting Louisiana memento, a book of Louisiana ghost stories to be sold at the 1984 World’s Fair in New Orleans. Author Chris Segura embellished forty rather gruesome tales, and Rodrigue researched regional myths and legends for appropriate imagery, resulting inContinue reading “Blue Dog: In the Beginning, 1984-1989”