On the radio the announcer said if being quarantined with your family is wearing just remember to be grateful you have a family and then she played. "You're Gonna Miss This" by Trace Adkins. Bonnie's Mother and child paintings serve as a reminder to hold each moment dear. You will miss th…
Bonnie is at work on a new angel painting. She has a story to tell and is focusing on the details. According to MikeNotJerry from Jerry's Artarama now is the time for us to thrive. We should take this opportunity and tell our story. It is a story that is both personal and universal and according…
Missing my art community. These painting were done by Bonnie and the onset of this series is a fun memory. Bonnie shared a painting she was working on in the studio a long while back. It was a beautiful landscape, but she was unhappy with the sky. She wanted something more. I told her abou…
I am a YouTube junkie. I love the new knowledge available...the new techniques. Mary Ann is one of the Gila Pueblo potters stranded in isolation because the of the corona virus. She shared with me and I with you her ventures in learning with YouTube. Had she not told me this is new learnin…
There is painting of Velasquez' princess in the last room of the Rene Cushman Gallery in Springerville, AZ. It is beautiful, but it was not done by the master himself. It was done by a student. Early in the 20th century it was considered the duty of an art student to copy the masters and those who w…
I pulled myself out of my e-reader and got out some clay. I intended to follow Jamie Meader's You Tube video on how to make an orb. She is one of the artist who have stepped up to the plate to share through the social isolation and one of my favorites. I did fine up to a point, but when it came …
There is painting of Velasquez' princess in the last room of the Rene Cushman Gallery in Springerville, AZ. It is beautiful, but it was not done by the master himself. It was done by a student. Early in the 20th century it was considered the duty of an art student to copy the masters and those who wished to sponsor the arts bought those copies. There was no intent to defraud. We don't know if Ms Cushman bought the painting to support the arts or simply because it was a piece of beauty to enjoy. She had a beautiful collection. Well worth the stop in Springerville.
Times have changed. Students still make copies of the masters, but the "intellectual property right" laws make it next to impossible to sell the copies.
When I worked as a graphic designer I learned to be very leery of copying anything. The case law is not in favor of the designer and the statute was confusing and ever changing. Now I'm again a student and as long as no money changes hands I can copy to my hearts content, yet something nags at me. Right now I'm trying to decide how to turn my "bog standard" teapot into Alice in Wonderland without stealing someone else's work. The original illustrations are probably fair game. At one point art became public domain 50 years after the artist died. Maybe that still holds. The newer versions are Disney and they don't fool around. They are reported to have spies actively seeking those who sell their images. I have no intent to sell, but I want to honor the artists who have preceded me. Is copying their work honoring or dishonoring them? I could do an homage to the original artist. I could do something influenced by Beatrice Potter or Bessie Guttman. All acceptable possibilities.
So now I sit dithering. The teapot is the perfect dryness to carve or do I paint my own Alice? Worse how can I make a Mad Hatter that is uniquely mine? We need to get back to the studio soon. I need deadlines to shorten my dither time.
