Another pic from my visit to The Heidelberg Project this last weekend. This is the view from the window below. The black shapes in this photo are burnt supports/lumber from a house.
So, if you missed it, I ranted a just a little bit in Friday's newsletter/blog posting.
You see, yet another "artist" copied one of my paintings and had it for sale on their website (as of Friday's posting, five other artists' work had been identified on her site as being stolen/pirated, so this was not an isolated circumstance or an innocently made decision).
This was the latest in a recent string of people who had stolen imagery and content from my website. It's become more and more common that copycats pad their own bank accounts with sales of copied and pirated art. Frustrated to a point I hadn't ever reached before, I sat down and wrote an open letter to the thieves who seem to be a dime a dozen anymore.
Then My Better Half whisked me away for a weekend saturated with art and food and laughter - just what the doctor ordered.
When I opened my emails late last nite, the response was overwhelming - hundreds of messages applauding my words. Many cross posted and shared the letter via their own channels. And far too many more wrote of their frustration after being stolen from, too. Katherine Tyrell of Making a Mark fame included a link to my letter in herweekly wrap up. I even heard from several arts councils that they will start offering workshops to guide artists through such a situation!
However there was one sole note from a Dog a Day fan who was offended. I've apologized to her - I did not intend to blindly accuse people of wrong doings. I know if one person felt strongly enough to write, there are others who share her feelings but remain silent. Please know if you are in this group, I value your time and attention and business tremendously and I am so very sorry if I offended you.
Thank you so much for your continued support!
And now I am delighted to move to my easel and paint an image entirely of my own making. It'll feel oh-so-good!! I'll share with you tomorrow!!
Thanks for supporting my art!!
|
A photo I took from this weekend's visit to
The Heidelberg Project, the text above the
window reads "Happiness is Only Real When Shared."
Today I Did
|
Your letter to copyright thieves was right on, Kim. It was extremely well-written with a point by point rebuttal of all the excuses we've all heard.
ReplyDeleteI find it hard to understand how anyone could be offended by it unless they're guilty of copying your work themselves. It's one thing to emulate your work in an effort to LEARN but quite another to copy another artist and then offer the artwork to the world as YOUR OWN unique creation. That is just plain unethical, not to mention illegal.
Thanks, Karen - for us as artists, the perspective is different than for those who don't understand or know much about the business of creatives and how income is generated, so I can see how my note might have been misconstrued. But I am so grateful that the majority of those who read my letter weren't upset and "got it"!!
DeleteIt's happened to me too. You can for $99.00 have all your works watermarked which keeps track of it on the net for you. Unfortunately we as artists are forced to lay out that extra cash because of thieves like this. You also need to watch ebay as well. I'm a fan of your work:-) So I will keep an eye out as well. Please keep us informed. Once again, I enjoy your blog and really appreciate your paintings!
ReplyDeleteTJ, you can watermark your images for free with any photo editing program - you don't need to pay a fee for any sort of watermarking service. And honestly, any kid 10 years and older can strip a watermark from an image in just a few minutes, including the kind that's embedded in the photo's data (not just a layer overtop the image). It's our role to make sure these kids (and adults and all inbetween) know the moral - and legal - consequences of it! Thanks for your support - I really, really appreciate it!!
Delete