What To Do When Your Art Is Stolen...

I have been pretty busy creating for myself and for others as of late and have not been in the mood to post anything. Sorry about that....

Yesterday was different... I worked on a couple of things for a show coming up in June and worked on a new idea involving QR codes, which you can see the results of in the new header. Go ahead and scan them with your phone, so you can take my art with you everywhere!!

Now, back to the post... My art is mine, even though I display it here. It does not belong to you, nor do the pictures of the art.

The art comes out of me, through my interpretations of the world around me, or through expression of a particular idea, concept or need. This includes the art used for auctions!

I get it, you may be doing an auction for your kid's school and need to come up with an idea and the Internet is a great place to search. I know that is how you found my site, by the search terms you used, because I have a tracker.

This tracker gives me the search terms, the pages you looked at and yes, the artwork you right clicked on and saved to your computer. It also tells me if you did a "Print Screen" kind of copying too. On top of all that useful information, it gives me your IP address, how long you looked around, how many times you have been here, every page you have seen and where you went once you left my site.

IT tells me everything, sorta like Santa, but better!

So, here is the deal. I know you would not have stolen the work unless you were very, very excited about the work I have done for auctions, and for that I am flattered.... BUT stealing my images and using them to duplicate art for your auction IS NOT OK!

If you had asked me, I would have given you permission to use the photos, as long as you link them back to me, and I would have requested that you change some aspect of the projects you are working on, like the color scheme. Easy... right?

All you have managed to do is make me mad, because when you take my art... you are taking a part of me and that doesn't feel so good.

Next time, ASK me if it is OK by sending me an email. Rest assured, you will be getting one from me later today, as soon as I track down the school in Wisconsin.