A couple of windows into how Hardie would paint

When my mother reread Hardie's diaries back in 1989, she made the following observation about one painting he'd done for his own "enjoyment":

"Most times a watercolor would go smoothly and quickly. But as I look back, I remember that occasionally the process was slow-going. In his early '76 notes, I see that he was redoing part of what he then called 'Behind Allen's.' 'Wash out and redraw building.' In the next days he added windows and continued work on 'watercolor of Allen's Clam House. Never say die. Redraw and repaint.' The next day he repainted it with 'more verve and warmer color.' He was still working on the painting in February, and then he finally matted it and called it 'Old Mill Pond.' Even though it was matted, Hardie noted on February 5th that he was 'still repainting watercolor!' Then he submitted it to a show at the National Academy ... and won the Barse Miller Award, so I guess all that effort was worthwhile."

Art directors were a necessary part of my father's life. The painting "Dead Rat" was painted after a particularly trying day in New York. My mother recalled:

"Hardie had come home mad at some art director, so he went for a walk out back to clear his mind. There he saw a huge dead rat out on our hill. Getting out his watercolors, he painted a wonderful Durer-looking watercolor of the rat. To him, it was the art director, and he worked off his anger in that way." [This painting was lost or stolen in the late 90s, but here’s an image of what Hardie painted.]

My father told a story about one particular art director. Hardie had gone into the City to make last-minute changes on a job. As he worked in the art director's office, he needed a ruler so he unknowingly reached for one on the man's desk that turned out to be a solid gold ruler. The director reacted with horror that someone had actually touched and used his "Golden Rule!" My father, who was so unpretentious, couldn't get over this Madison-Avenue hype. Other art directors, however, were close friends with whom Hardie would go on sketching trips.