LAFAYETTE, LA (AP) — A year after George Rodrigue's death, his estate will release 450 copies of a Blue Dog Mardi Gras print he designed.
This one shows the round-eyed, perky-eared dog in Carnival colors: half of its face is green, it has a yellow muzzle and wears a purple mask, The Advertiser’s Herman Fuselier reported.
A special stamp proves the silkscreen prints are authentic, said Rodrigue's son, Jacques Rodrigue. The 1.5-inch by 3-inch stamp uses ink that shows up as different colors under different lights, he said.
''It reacts differently to different wavelengths of light. So to the naked eye, it appears black. Under infrared light, it turns green. Under black light or UV light, it turns purple," he said.
The Rodrigue Studio Lafayette will begin selling the new print at 10 a.m. Monday, he said.
This is the fifth set of new prints released by the studio since Rodrigue's death in December 2013.
The "Mardi Gras 2014" print sold out in five days, Rodrigue said.
"We were really amazed by the public support for these prints released from the estate. We had no idea a print could sell out that fast," he said.
A 2015 wall calendar contains 12 previously unpublished Blue Dog images.
In the spring, a three-month exhibit of Rodrigue's work will be unveiled in Houston, Rodrigue said, along with a new book, "The Don Sanderson Collection." Sanderson, a Houston entrepreneur, has the largest known Blue Dog collection with nearly 100 original paintings.
