What now is perhaps the most recognizable of Rodrigue images did not begin
that way. The first “Blue Dog” painting was originally conceived
in 1984 as an illustration of loup-garou for a book of Cajun ghost stories.
The loup-garou was a mythical werewolf dog from French legends. Rodrigue was
already quite familiar with the story. As a child, his parents told him of
the legendary loup-garou who prowled the swamps around Louisiana and came
out during a full moon to eat misbehaving children.
The artist had no image for the loup-garou, so he did as he had always done;
he turned to someone near him for a model – his beloved dog Tiffany.
His spaniel terrier mix had died several years before, but he found photos
of her that served as a perfect prototype. He manipulated her shape and stance,
and gave her coat a matted, grisly appearance. Under the pale light of the
moon, she appeared blue-grey and he gave her burning red eyes. Drawn to this
image, Rodrigue continued to paint the dog over the next five or six years,
placing her in cemeteries, and bayous, and alongside the Cajun oaks. He treated
the Blue Dog in the same way he did the Cajuns – as a strong design
element and an object drenched with symbolism.
The artist eventually brought the Blue Dog out of the dark swamps and into
exotic and exciting locations dreamt from his imagination. The dog became
bluer, and he changed her eyes to yellow, creating a much friendlier persona.
He began to experiment with bold colors and shapes for the background of his
new subject. She was no longer a frightening loup-garou, but a ghost of Tiffany
in search of her master.
Over the last twenty years the Blue Dog has grown into a familiar icon and
has taken on countless meanings in the eyes of the beholder. The paintings
can imbue feelings of sadness, mystery, humor, ambiguity, or love. Although
the image of Blue Dog has been seen in numerous ways, Rodrigue says the picture
has not lost its original meaning. “The dog is sitting there asking
questions about life. The dog is looking at us for answers and we’re
looking at the dog for answers.”