Meet Rodney Hardee, The Man who Painted the Cat

Two of the most noticeable pieces of art at Polk Museum of Art in Lakeland, Florida are paintings of a cat and a dog. The adorably odd paintings, Barking in the Bushes at Night and Whiskers in the Garden, are majestic works by a self-taught, quirky folk artist, Rodney Hardee.

His humble beginning

Rodney is a 41-year-old folk artist who used to live in a small trailer in Florida. According to Interestingideas.com, his stunning success dates back to the 70s. And unlike many artists, he hadn’t discovered his knack for painting until he paid his friend a visit.

One day, Rodney went to his old friend’s gift shop. He said he just wanted to buy some pictures and he realized that farm scenes—the subject his friend Betty Cheeks used wasn’t really difficult to sketch. Thinking it wouldn’t be much of a problem to paint, he gave it a try.

Rodney started painting farm scenes and noticed that his works were selling bit by bit. This was when his painting career started to bloom. He learned how to make a career of a painting hobby by heart. And the fluky thing about this was his old farm scene paintings gave him extra money to pay his dues.

One may mistake him to be a big earner as an artist, but he is just not. Believe it or not, he makes money by working for a food equipment-making company. He wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth either.

But why doesn’t he make money out of his paintings?

Rodney says he only paints what he wants. He would only produce around 15 paintings a year, and he thinks of his craft as a plain demonstration of what he sees and thinks.

From farms to cats

Rodney Hardee likes to portray cats and nature in general. He says he’s done away with the farm scenes which inspired him to paint something out (Thanks to his good old friend, Betty!). His patrons may be wondering why Rodney has such a big interest in cats and anything odd. Well, this is probably because of his “folksiness”. He wants people to remember traditional Florida art, customs, or stories.

Amazingly, Rodney is an excellent watercolourist who knows how to blend figurative art and abstract. His works are monochromic tinged with pale colours that give watchers a feeling of ease and harmony. The texture of his paintings looks solid, too! You can easily tell what the painting is.

Paying it forward

If people would be wondering if Rodney has ever been recognized for his art, well, the answer is a blaring yes! In fact, he is proud to have been featured in “Self Taught, Outsider, and Folk Art: A Guide to American Artists, Locations and Resources” by Betty-Carol Sellen and Cynthia J. Johanson.

Being the low-key folk artist that he is, Rodney has never failed to reciprocate the kindness Lakeland folks have shown him. He gives back by helping other beginners who he said remind him of his struggling days. He said, “And that's what I envision happening with the folk artists here.” And with folk artists like Rodney paying it forward, everybody’s certainly painting the town red.