Dog Art Today

Tag: george rodrigue

  • Blue Dog for Flag Day

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    We Will Rise Again by George Rodrigue, 2005

    Today is Flag Day.  But I am not feeling very rah rah.  As I watch the ineffectual boom drift along the Gulf Coast, not a soul in sight (Rachel Maddow is going excellent coverage of this), and the live feed continue to gush, I can’t shake the sense that something is terribly wrong in our country.  Why can’t we mobilize forces to stop this?  The truth is that “the greatest nation on earth” doesn’t have the resources, money, or technology to tackle this.  And it’s scary.

    As I was looking for an image to post today, I found this Blue Dog by Louisiana native George Rodrigue.  He painted it in September of 2005, just after Katrina, and wrote:

    We Will Rise Again shows the American flag covered with water. The blue dog is partly
    submerged, and its eyes, normally yellow, are red with a broken heart. Like a ship’s
    S.O.S., the red cross on the dog’s chest calls out for help.

    Today, Blue Dog and the flag would be submerged in toxic globs and a question mark might be in order at the end of title. 

    P.S. George’s wife, Wendy, has a terrific blog called Musings of an Artist’s Wife.  She recently wrote about the dark period of Blue Dog after Katrina and her husband’s cautious optimism.  Click here to read.

  • George Rodrigue’s Who Dat? Blue Dog

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    George Rodrigue turned his recently unveiled Blue Dog sculpture in New Orleans into a Who Dat? dog.  Love it.  And go Saints!

    Read more here.  Visit George Rodrigue’s website for all things Blue Dog.

  • Blue Dogs Named After Blue Dog

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    Prints of George Rodrigue’s new silkscreens, Are You Lonesome Tonight?, 2009

    Speaking of health care, did you know the Blue Dog Democrats were named after George Rodrigue’s iconic Blue Dog?  I didn’t.

    Here’s the story:

    The term “Blue Dog” is reputably a reference to paintings of Cajun
    artist George Rodrigue, which feature a blue dog. So of those paintings
    hung in the offices of two Louisiana representatives who were among the
    original founders of the coalition. Members explain that “A blue dog is
    our mascot because when dogs are not let into the house, they stay
    outside in the cold and turn blue,” meaning that moderate and
    conservative Democrats felt left out of the Party which they believe
    had shifted to the political left. They also claim that they were
    “choked by the Democratic party until they turned blue.”

    Read full article by Richard Mays via The Sun-Times.

    Also, George Rodrigue is now on a book tour for his new children’s book Are You Blue Dog’s Friend?
      Click here to see if and when he is coming to your city.

    Blue_dog_childrens_book

    And finally, I just discovered his wife Wendy’s terrific new blog, Musings of an Artist’s Wife.  I especially like this post on seeing art as opposed to just looking at it.  Stop by and say hi.

  • George Rodrigue’s New Blue Dogs

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    Waiting for the Cajuns to Arrive, 2009

    George Rodrigue has just released a new limited edition silkscreened print entitled Waiting for the Cajuns to Arrive.  It is an intriguing blend of his early Cajun-Louisiana landscape paintings and his beloved Blue Dog.  90 signed prints are available on his website.  $1,500 each.  Lovely!

    Related Links:

    George Rodrigue: Beyond Blue Dog
    Falling Back in Love with George Rodrigue’s Blue Dog
    George Rodrigue Retrospective at NOMA

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  • George Rodrigue’s New Blue Dog + New Gig

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    Falling for You, 2008

    Renowned Blue Dog painter, George Rodrigue is as busy as ever.  He recently released his new limited edition Blue Dog print, Falling for You.  He is in the middle of a 3 month cross country tour for his new 512 page book, Blue Dog Speaks.   And, he was just named Louisiana's artist laureate. 

    I think it is the perfect accolade for a man you has spent his career evoking the haunting beauty of the state through his Cajun paintings, and has donated over $2.5 million to post-Katrina relief efforts through the sale of his Blue Dog prints.  Congratulations! 

    Related Links:

    George Rodrigue: Beyond Blue Dog
    Falling Back in Love with George Rodrigue's Blue Dog
    George Rodrigue Retrospective at NOMA

  • George Rodrigue Retrospective at NOMA

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    Colors of My Mind, 2008.  Painted in automotive "flop" colors.

    I don’t know why I keep denying my interest in George Rodrigue .  Maybe because Blue Dog, as sweet as she is, got a little over-saturated in my mind at the height of her popularity.  Regardless, I finally took a look at  "Rodrigue’s Louisiana: Forty Years of Cajuns, Blue Dogs, and Beyond Katrina" at the New Orleans Museum of Art, and couldn’t deny my awe and admiration for the artist and his endless creativity, and of course his wonderful dog art.

    Art critic Doug MacCash of The Times-Picayune gives the show a rave too.  He also selected some of his favorite pieces (including several non-Blue Dog ones) that I share with you here.  Enjoy!

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    Watchdog, 1984.  One of the earliest Blue Dogs originally meant to be a mythical werewolf creature.

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    No More Dukes, 1993.  Rodrigue and Blue Dog get political as David Duke runs for Governor of Louisiana.

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    Doc Moses, Cajun Traiteur, 1970s.  One of Rodrigue’s famous Cajun scenes, a popular focus for him pre-Blue Dog.

    Rodrigue_kiss_me_cajun
    Kiss Me I’m Cajun, 1979.  A painting of Rodrigue’s son and also a commentary on the commercialization and possible demise of the Cajun culture.  Wonderful!

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    A collection of Blue Dog style cows.  The large one made for Cows on Parade Chicago, 1999.  The 250 small ones, won in a settlement after a Chinese porcelain company tried to illegally mass produce them in miniature. 

    Show runs through June 8.  For more information visit NOMA’s website.

  • Dog Art: Christie’s and Sotheby’s Auction Round-Up

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    The bubble may have burst in the housing market but the sky’s not falling in the art world. Both Christie’s and Sotheby’s had stellar sales at their auctions this week. Artnet concludes Sotheby’s edged out Christies in sales, size, and sell through percentage. Dog art was hot at both.

    George Rodrigue’s 2000 Blue Dog painting The Path of the Candles, estimated to sell for $80,000, went for $115,000 at Sotheby’s. At Christie’s, Tom Friedman’s Yarn Dog sold for less than its $180,000 estimate, but still found a buyer at an impressive $169,000. Sadly, Laughing Dog by Saul Steinberg did not find a home.

  • Falling Back in Love with George Rodrigue’s Blue Dog

    I was enthralled when I first saw George Rodrigue’s Blue Dog back in the 90s . Simple, bold, obviously impassioned, I “got “what excited dog and art lovers about his work. Over the years, truth be told, I’d become a little bored with the image. I felt like, ok, what’s new?

    Yesterday I watched the short film Rodrigue: A Man & His Dog by David DuBos (narrated by Whoopi Goldberg), and I fell in love all over with Blue Dog.

    I won’t say too much except take a few minutes and watch it. Discover Rodrigue’s elegiac efforts to depict his beloved Tiffany (Blue Dog’s real name) traveling across time and throughout the universe searching for Rodrigue and their life together. Clearly the artist is doing the same through his paintings. It’s beautiful, heart wrenching and profoundly moving. Enjoy.

    Rodrigue has also just released two new silkscreens in signed limited editions of 100.

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    Wash My Blues Away 2007

    Take_me_home3
    Take Me Home 2007

    Both are available at GeorgeRodrigue.com.

  • George Rodrigue: Beyond Blue Dog

    I never knew that famed dog artist George Rodrigue began his career painting hundreds of oak-filled Louisiana landscapes before he added people to the picture, for example, Walker Percy. (below)

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    Then, in the mid-70’s he painted the mythological Cajun werewolf, Loup-Garou. Red-eyed and grey-furred, this somber creature was the genesis of Blue Dog – the beloved image that would define Rodrigue’s career for the next few decades.

    Now, in his Dream Series, Rodrigue looks at chaotic, post-Katrina life in New Orleans, as in Fall Colors For All. (below)

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    Experience the evolution of his art at Louisiana State Museum’s retrospective, Rodrigue: Beyond Blue Dog. It opens this weekend and runs until November 17. If you can’t make it to Natchitoches, visit Rodrigue’s online studio and discover the many facets of his work. You might be surprised…I was.