George Rodrigue (b. 1944) was born and raised in New Iberia, Louisiana (Heart of the Cajun Country). During the mid 1960s, Rodrigue attended the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. During this time, Pop and Abstract Art dominated and it was an exciting time for young artists. Rodrigue returned to Louisiana and started his artistic career as a Cajun Artist. He used the oak tree as his main subject matter and later incorporated Cajun people and traditions.
The Blue Dog
It was a myth, the loup-garou which inspired Rodrigue to paint his most famous series. Painted for a book on Cajun Ghost Stories (Bayou, Inkwell. 1984) this werewolf-type dog was already a familiar legend to Rodrigue, who often heard the stories as a boy. He found a photo of his studio dog Tiffany who had died several years before. Rodrigue manipulated her shape to meet his needs for the painting. He explored his earlier pop and abstract interests and developed the painting to have strong shapes and additional bold blocks of colour. Gradually the dog became bluer and his paintings more abstract.
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| Blue Dog on the River by George Rodrigue |
Visit the New Orleans Museum of Art interactive site to view the exhibition by George Rodrigue.
George Rodrigue on youtube.
Children can read, "Why is Blue Dog Blue," by George Rodrigue
Submit your finished painting to the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts
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