Demystifying Art: Copyright

Demystifying Art:
Copyright

The artist's first decision is what to paint, and at that point copyright hits!
In my opinion, it's not ok to paint people in a way in which they are identifiable (especially children) without clear permission, or to use someone else's photo without their consent. It's also potentially a breach of the individual's copyright and privacy law.

That's why many artists like me take our own reference photos.

But did you know that a major British custodian of stately homes, a number of zoos and even one multinational corporation owning every-day car brands (like Peugeot, Citroen, Fiat, Vauxhall, Chrysler...) don't allow artists to sell art depicting anything they own, have custody of or have the rights to...?

I've several friends who've found their art offered for sale on products by companies they’re not connected to, and last week I found an artist at my art society copying one of my paintings that was featured in Paint & Create magazine. As she wasn’t intending to use it commercially, I was ok about it. I wanted to encourage her with her art. But I know some artists seriously wouldn’t have been cool about it...

Enjoy!
Sam aka LymphomaLass xx

P.S. The image in the background of this video is my watercolour painting entitled "The Lonely Snowman" for which I took my own photo.