A Little History…
George Rodrigue was born on March 13, 1944 in Louisiana. While bed ridden with Polio in the third grade, George began painting. This is interesting as this is how Matisse began his love of art. In the 1990’s, George became famous for his Blue Dog Paintings. Blue Dog was the result of illustrating a book of Cajun ghost stories. While researching a “Cajun werewolf dog” or loup-garou, George invented Blue Dog.
Rodrigue was commissioned by the Republican Party to paint Ronald Reagan and commissioned by the Democratic Party to paint President Bill Clinton. Many of his paintings feature his Cajun heritage.
In 2009, George Rodrigue formed the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts to provide support and arts development to children through educational programs.
On December 14, 2013, George Rodrigue passed away after a long battle with cancer.
Artist George Rodrigue
One of the things I love about Rodrigue’s work (besides that colorful Blue Dog!) is his love of his home town. His cajun influences stretch deep into his paintings. Looking at his art is like browsing through a friend’s photo album.
In the classroom, we love Blue Dog. What child doesn’t love dogs? The freedom to add personal expressions of color makes this one of the most popular lesson with my students, no matter what the grade. My sixth grade students created Blue Dogs with Tempera Paint. The impressive thing is that both lessons can be adapted to any grade level. For both of these lessons I used Rodrigue’s book, Are You Blue Dog’s Friend? to start the lesson. If you don’t have it, it is a must for your classroom. Really. Super colorful and inspiring.
Here are a few more Rodrigue books about Blue Dog…
3. Blue Dog 2015 Wall Calendar
4. The Loup-Garou of Côte Gelée
Here is a great timeline of George’s Life from the George Rodrigues Studios
George’s wife, Wendy, describes how Blue Dog came to be: Blue Dog: In the Beginning
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Where did the chalk lesson video go? I’ve used that for years and now it’s not there. Please help. Thanks.
I have quite a few. Try using the search bar “Chalk” or look under Art Lesson Library and search for lessons under “Art by Technique”
I was referring to Chalk Blue Dog. When I click on the link for the video, it says “page not found”. Thanks so much for helping with this. That video is a favorite of mine.
I’m sorry. That video is no longer sold in my shop. If you are a member of The Sparklers Club, the lesson and video are located in the Arts & Literature Bundle. I apologize for the incorrect link. I removed it so there won’t be any confusion. Thanks for letting me know!
I, too, have used this lesson for years and was disappointed to find it missing. Is the Sparkler’s Club and additional fee to the one we already pay to be a member of this site? I think I’m confused.
Hi hroliver,
I have a free lesson on this blog. It’s not missing. I linked to the lesson in this post about Rodrigue. Here’s the link: https://www.deepspacesparkle.com/george-rodrigues-blue-dog-art-lesson/
The Sparklers Club is a paid membership where you get access to over 60 artist bundle sand resources for a low monthly fee. Its pretty awesome!
Was this lesson one we had to purchase separately in the past, or was it one we just had access to as members of your site? I am so disappointed as I have my entire lesson prepped with chalks out and paper ready, but the video is no longer accessible, and the Sparklers Club is currently closed. 🙁
Don’t be discouraged…you just didn’t land on the right page. Here is the lesson as posted on DSS: https://www.deepspacesparkle.com/george-rodrigues-blue-dog-art-lesson/
If you purchased this lesson with the video, you’re right. Its no longer available for sale but we have included it as part of The Sparklers Club. If you purchased the lesson and cant find it, you can reach out to support@deepspacesparkle.com. We keep track of everyone’s orders so we can help you. 🙂