The Blue Dog
by George Rodrigue, Artist

Blue Dog Room • Queen Bed • Sleeps 2

 

Welcome to The Blue Dog Bedroom!  At Frenchmen Street Guesthouse, we are all about introducing you to “New Orleans’ favorite Things” and to our beloved, previous owner’s “favorite New Orleans things”.

 

George Rodrigue was Born and raised in “CAJUN COUNTRY” in Southwest Louisiana. The Blue Dog inspiration was spawned from a Cajun legend, the loup-garou.

 

Meet Tiffany, the Original Blue Dog

 

It was an accident that a terrier/spaniel mix named Tiffany found herself involved with an artist’s legacy years after her death. The Blue Dog, in truth has little connection to the Rodrigue family pet. Instead,

its roots lie in a Cajun story, the loup-garou, a scary legend about a werewolf-type dog that lurks in cemeteries and sugar cane fields, haunting naughty children in the night.

 

“If you’re not good today,” George’s mother used to tell him, “the loup-garou will get you tonight!”

 

In the beginning, the Blue Dog was no different than these other Cajun subjects, and Tiffany was no different than George’s other models. Rodrigue has hundreds of pictures of her, snapped as she sat beside his easel late at night, keeping a Cajun artist company in the wee hours.

 

“She was a mean little dog, always eating the furniture and chasing the neighbors. But we got along great.”

 

Tiffany was dead four years when Rodrigue chose her photograph as the basic shape for his first painting of the loup-garou in 1984. As almost an after-thought, he painted her a pale grey-blue, an artistic decision, as her white fur reflected the dark night sky.

 

We hope you enjoy being introduced and surrounded by Tiffany and experiencing some of New Orleans “favorite things”.  By the way,

Rodrigue has an Art Gallery in the French Quarter, just a few blocks away at 730 Royal Street.  Enjoy!