This video was made during the pandemic. The face has changed (dang), but I still recommend this book and refer to it sometimes when teaching an art class.
I like to emphasize that you can copy anything as a learning experience. However, to respect copyright law, you must NOT display your copy in public, including social media, or sell your copy.
I have a story about an experience I had with this.
After telling students about copyright restrictions, the class worked step-by-step through a painting of mine. At the next class, one of the students said to me, quietly, “You should check in with Gerda (name changed). She had her copy of your painting at a public venue last week.”
I asked Gerda, “Was there some misunderstanding about copyright restrictions?”
She replied, “Oh no, I was selling the copy at a charity auction so it was for a good cause.”
I said, “Sorry, that is still copyright infringement.”
She answered, “No, it was really okay because I put your name on it.”
There was a collective gasp as the class realized what this meant. Specifically, there was out in public, a very inferior copy (Gerda was a beginner) of a painting with my name on it.
I like to tell this story to emphasize that you cannot show your copy in a public venue. Saying that it is a copy from ‘so and so Artist’ does not change this.
Copying works you love can speed up your learning curve tremendously. Enjoy and grow your art by copying others, but respect that the original artist holds the copyright to that image.
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