LITTLE ROCK — A rare visit to Little Rock by a world-renowned artist this week will be made even more unique by the opportunity to watch and bid on an original piece of art created in front of a crowd.
George Rodrigue of New Orleans, best known for his “Blue Dog” art, will demonstrate his craft Friday in the Clinton Presidential Center’s Great Hall during a fundraiser for the Thea Foundation.
Tickets to the event at 6:30 p.m. are available for $150 each. Rodrigue will paint an original Blue Dog that will be followed by a live auction for the piece of art.
A $1,500-per-couple, private “VIP host” reception with Rodrigue before the event at the Clinton center is already sold out, a foundation spokesman said.
All proceeds will benefit the Thea Foundation, a nonprofit in North Little Rock in its 10th year of raising arts awareness in schools statewide. The foundation awards scholarships to students across Arkansas, donates arts supplies to schools, and provides arts competitions and workshops.
“This particular event is really special,” said Vincent Insalaco, president of Thea’s board of directors. “It’s not often that you have a worldrenowned artist come to town. I’m not sure when this has ever happened here.”
Rodrigue’s art has sold for as much as $200,000, Insalaco said, with works typically sold for between $25,000-$50,000.
“He did one of these [live] in Las Vegas, and the piece sold for $180,000,” Insalacosaid. “We don’t expect anything like that amount to happen here. It’s an event for charity. But we expect it to do really well.
“For art lovers, it’s just a great opportunity,” he said of the chance to buy an original painting by Rodrigue. “There are a lot of collectors who collect the Blue Dog paintings. ... This is not one that you’ll be able to get a print of later. There won’t be copies of it anywhere, it’ll be an original. That makes this event more special.”
Rodrigue, a Louisiana native, is most famous for his series of artworks featuring a blue dog in different settings. The depiction began from his work based on a Cajun legend of the loup-garou, a werewolf or ghost dog, that he drew for a book of Cajun ghost stories.
The Blue Dog image, a blue-hued spaniel-terrier often featured with a white nose and yellow eyes, has evolved into a friendlier-looking dog. The image also is attributed to his deceased dog, Tiffany.
Rodrigue has galleries in New Orleans; Lafayette, La.; Aspen, Colo.; and Carmel, Calif. He also founded the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts last year in New Orleans, based on the Thea Foundation model.
Rodrigue read about the Thea Foundation’s work in former President Bill Clinton’s book Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World, said Paul Leopoulos, executive director of the foundation. Clinton and Leopoulos remain close after being childhood friends in Hot Springs, and Clinton provided support and influence in helping form the organization.
The foundation was created by Paul and Linda Leopoulos in the fall of 2001 in memory of their daughter, Thea Leopoulos, who was 17 when she died in an automobile accident earlier that year.
“[Rodrigue] was interested in forming his own foundation,” Paul Leopoulos said. “So he had one of his people call and said they really liked what we were doing andwanted to do the same down there in New Orleans, which had been brutalized by Hurricane Katrina.
“We’re very proud of that [influence],” he said. “It shows we’ve come far enough to have an impact on other people. It’s a great compliment.”
Friday’s fundraiser will include “A Taste of New Orleans” theme, a silent auction, hors d’oeuvres and jazz music.
“The whole thing will have a New Orleans flair to it,” in Rodrigue’s honor, Insalaco said.
Tickets and more information are available from the Thea Foundation at (501) 379-9512 or online at theafoundation.org.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 17 on 10/31/2010