The Artist

Described as Hudson New York’s “Outsider Artist” Earl Swanigan transports his latest creations on a furniture dolly. His primitive paintings of personified cats, dogs and chickens done on recycled materials are a common sight along Warren Street. Earl is a prominent feature and one of the woven threads of fabric that make Hudson unique. I felt my visual portrayal of life in the city would not be complete without him. 

Earl Swanigan came to Hudson in the late 80’s and even though Hudson wasn’t at that time an art destination he forged ahead. I think what impressed me most about him was that he didn’t appear to want to be rich or famous, he just enjoyed what he was doing. Little by little he started to gain recognition. Newspaper articles were written about him and people would come from New York City looking for that guy that sells paintings of cats and dogs on the street. Before long his art appeared in many of the storefronts on Warren Street. Hence, wanting to include a painting of him in the series I began photographing him. Sometimes he even posed for me smiling while standing in front of his latest creations. Then in 2013 I settled on the image of him with his dolly cart full of paintings that I thought was most typical. The painting was designed to tell the continuing story of life on Warren Street. But it was more than that. It was also meant as a tribute to an artist whose determination and spirit played a part in adding something else to the list of attractions of outsiders to Hudson... art. This is something I was keenly interested in.

While at a group show in February 2014 at McDaris Fine Art Gallery where both Earl and I attended, I showed him a picture I had taken of the completed painting of him on my cellphone. He didn’t say much. He just chuckled. However, in October 2015 I received a knock on my door and a man handing me a summons to appear in court. Apparently Earl was upset with the fact that a few greeting cards of the painting had sold from an online company and was suing me for copyright infringement. Needless to say, I was very preoccupied in the ensuing months over how this would all turn out. I wanted to describe what happened but not with anger or resentment. This manifested itself in another painting, a self-portrait entitled: “The Artist”.

Back in 1962, Norman Rockwell, awed by the success of Jackson Pollock created a painting entitled: “The Connoisseur”. The painting shows a balding, middle-aged man from the back as he looks at a Jackson Pollock. To make the painting, Rockwell had to do his own version of a Pollock painting. Within the painting he even scrawled a red “JP” in the upper right as a tribute to Pollock. It was also Rockwell’s way of expressing his frustration over how abstract expressionism with its drips and splashes came to be viewed as highly valued fine art while representational art was viewed merely as illustration.

In “The Artist” I depict myself in the act of finishing the “Earl” painting. On the wall is a poster advertising the Warren Street series, of which the painting I am working on is to become a part. The idea of the square tile floor is actually taken from “The Connoisseur”, while the black cat is a sign of trouble or danger. As you can see, the painting is deep in symbolic and historic references. The suit was eventually dismissed and both paintings later sold. However, if in the future, anything is to be said about these paintings that I have done, I sincerely hope that the Warren Street series be remembered as a tribute to a city that played a large part in my life and a man that added to its unique charm rather than Ken Young was sued for copyright infringement.