Art & Public Domain (Before 1923)

Color pencil peacock on ©1983 Webster's Dictionary pages

This is a school art project my daughter is working on for class. Her teacher loaned her an old (©1983) Webster's dictionary to use as the background paper. In my daughter's eyes - this is a vintage dictionary. In my eyes - it is my freshman year of college! I mentioned to my daughter that it is copyright infringement to use the dictionary pages without permission. I got an eye roll. :-D

"It is just a dictionary Mom... Just for class Mom..." I am thinking, what if you want to sell this piece some day?

So I fired up my computer and did a little research. As far as I can tell, I wouldn't use anything unless is was copyrighted prior to 1923. Here is a good chart for more detailed exceptions: http://copyright.cornell.edu/resources/publicdomain.cfm

A Pinterest search turned up a LOT of people creating art on old books - fun to look at! http://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=art%20on%20old%20books

I got tired of trying to find out if there is an exception for a dictionary. Does anyone know for sure? I would love to point to some authority so I can say "I told you so" :-)

One more thought...I maybe shouldn't post this image on my blog?! Hmmm.

Thanks Doodlebugerz - Always enjoy hearing from you.
Make my week and follow this blog!

Art Licensing Academy - Have you Heard About it?

I am also asking a favor from you :-D

 

Happy Friday everyone! I have been getting questions lately from some of you: "How did you get started in art licensing - what should I do?",  "What resolution should I scan in my art?", "How did you find an agent?"... — a lot of the time I will say you might want to check out one of Tara Reed's products. (Yes, this sure sounds sales-y!). But she has all this stuff set up and ready to go. SO when I saw that she has an Art Licensing Academy coming up - I thought it might interest a lot of you and I would give it a shout out on my blog. FAQs here: http://artlicensingblog.com/2014/03/art-licensing-academy-faqs/

To give a bit of back story: About 3 years ago, I think, I purchased Tara's How to Find an Agent eBook.  For me, it was confirmation that what I was planning on doing was a good approach. I am a BIG fan of her FREE art licensing "Ask Calls". SO this is someone I feel comfortable recommending.

SO, This is the favor part - I am sure you noticed the affiliate ad on the right-hand side of this blog. No pressure to sign up, just - would you use this link if you are going to sign up anyway? When you click on that ad and purchase Tara's Art Licensing Academy, it tracks that you came from my blog and I get a couple of bucks in my pocket as a thank you for recommending the course.

I am wrestling with this one a bit. I recommend Tara anyway - why not get paid for it? But, will the ads (and this post!) offend my audience? The cool thing is that I know you guys will let me know what you think - you can always email me privately anntroe@cox.net.

If you don't want me to make a commission (if you decide to purchase) here is the direct link: www.ArtLicensingAcademy.com.

Thanks Doodlebugerz, I am looking forward to hearing from you!

Social Media and Double, Tripple.... Posting?!

Here is what I do - Tell me your thoughts?

For the last year - Oh wait! Happy Blog Anniversary to Us! - I post on this blog once a week. THEN I post a link to this blog in a couple of Linkedin groups, Twitter, Facebook, a Facebook Group, Google+, AND Pinterest.

I didn't start out doing that cuz I know that I have a lot of the same followers on all those sites. I was/am worried about the 'annoyance factor' when one of my fabulous followers comes across a repeat post. BUT after mustering up some courage, I posted in all those previously mentioned places and my traffic went up. To me that says I am reaching more people who didn't happen to catch it in the other places I posted...

NOW I have even re-Tweeted, re-Facebooked (you get the idea) about mid week to all my social media sites. Traffic goes up again. Clearly I am reaching new people.

Are any of you annoyed with this? Numbers are NOT the only reason to blog - connecting with people IS a reason to blog. I must admit that when I check out a new follower on Twitter (or any social media site), if all I see is the same tweet over and over again, I don't follow them.

I do try to mix it all up for everyone's sake.

Seriously, let me know your experiences, thoughts - I can take it! :-) Thanks in advance.

Find, Evaluate and Act - by Kiffanie Stahle

3 simple steps to control where your images appear online.

First, tell us a bit about you.
Hello! I’m Kiffanie Stahle, the founder of Stahle Law, a law firm serving creative entrepreneurs. I’ve been taking photographs from the ripe old age of seven and this gives me the unique ability to merge art and legalese. I love that my job is to support creatives on their journey to becoming successful and thriving creative businesses. I help them grow, protect their creations, and eliminate the surprises that could cost them thousands of dollars. My goal is to allow you to focus on what you do best – creating!

Tell us about your new eBook and why you wrote it.
We live in a right-click society and your images are constantly being used without your permission. Sometimes this is just the bump you need to get your work in front of the right audience, but sometimes it’s not (and you should be getting paid a licensing fee).
My new eBook is designed to put the control back in your hands. So you control where your work is being used – not other people. The eBook will give you:
    •    The tools to find where your work is appearing online
    •    The knowledge to evaluate what you can, can’t, and maybe shouldn’t do about it
    •    An action plan for how to act, when you choose to do so.

A lot has been written about how to conduct a reverse image search and those tools are important to the process. But I really think that the core of this book is the method that I teach you to evaluate what to do about the things you find. And since I love to boil things down in a visual manner, this method is centered on a chart I created with a kraft pad and Sharpie markers.

How can people get it?
You can purchase it through my website for $39. However, as a special thank you to your readers, I’m offering them 20% off through the end of February with the code: DOODLEBUGZ. https://www.stahlelaw.com/protect-work-ebook/

Anything else you want to share?
Yes! My favorite event each month is my Office Hours, which I host via Google Hangouts the 4th Wednesday of each month at 11am Pacific. Since it’s limited to nine participants a month, it’s a great chance for you to ask me questions and to learn from the struggles and challenges that other creative businesses are facing. I’m always amazed by the ideas, suggestions, and knowledge shared each month by the participants. If you are interested in joining you can email me at: kiffanie@stahlelaw.com or check out my Google+ page where I post the invite each month. https://plus.google.com/+KiffanieStahle/

Are you an early riser? or night owl?
Total night owl. I try not to schedule appointments before 10am. I need my morning infusion of coffee before talking to people.

What is your favorite food?
If I have to pick one, then pickled items of all kinds: pineapple, grapes, carrots, garlic, peppers, and of course the original pickled item, the cucumber. But dark chocolate is a close second.

Where can people find you?
I’m @kiffaniestahle pretty much everywhere, but as a visual person, Instagram is where I’m most. You can also reach me through my website at: http://www.stahlelaw.com.
Link to Google+: https://plus.google.com/+KiffanieStahle/
Link to Instagram: http://instagram.com/kiffaniestahle


Thanks Kiffanie for doing this spotlight! - I have learned so much from you :-)
Hey doodlebugerz, make my day and follow my blog!

FREE Photoshop seamless patterns!

Free for commercial and personal use - Have fun!

Hey everybody, I got this idea to share a few seamless patterns of mine from the cool people on the Art Licensing Network Facebook group :-) Who doesn't love FREE and no strings attached! Woop!

Okay. Here is the link to the patterns above. The files are 5"x5 ",  300 dpi, Photoshop CS6.
CLICK HERE to go to the download page.

How to use:
In Photoshop open up one of the patterns you just downloaded.

Go to the menu bar, click EDIT: scoll to DEFINE PATTERN, click OK.

Now, open a new file in Photoshop. To keep it easy, make it 10" x10" at 300 dpi.

Let's fill it with the pattern you just defined!

Go to the menu bar, click EDIT: scroll to FILL...
In the dialogue box that opens (see image below) choose PATTERN in the drop down menu
in the Custom Pattern option - choose the new pattern you just defined, click OK!

TaDa! It filled your space with the pattern - Cool Beans!

Play with the size to fill and the resolution to see how that affects your results. You can also play with the other options in the dialogue box above and see what they do :-)

You can create your own custom patterns in any square size you like.

Would you rather see a video on how to do this? Here is the link - you can google more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL3cQy6cmsw
This link is also listed on my Useful Stuff blog page if you want to find it again.

So Doodlebugerz, What cha think? Like the freebies? Could you understand how to do it?
Make my day and follow my blog - Thanks!

Artist Spotlight - Ronnie Walter

Be sure to scroll down to see samples of Ronnie's art!

 

Tell us a bit about yourself: Did you go to school for art? Are you self taught?

I was fortunate enough to attend a technical high school in Erie, Pennsylvania that had a commercial art program, so I had a pretty great foundation of drawing and painting before I went off to art school at the Columbus College of Art and Design. I only managed two years at Columbus due to my sad little budget, but I eventually ended up getting a BFA from St. Cloud State University in Minnesota. But I was also one of those kids who had to draw all the time. Like in math class, social studies, history…yeah, one of those.

What inspires you / where do you get inspiration from?

I am inspired by life, really. I find that humans are an ever changing source of inspiration due to our quirky and complex natures, plus, we are not particularly good at expressing ourselves emotionally--and as long as this is true, the world will continue to need artists and writers! I’m inspired to develop products that have meaning and I like the idea that something I do can make someone feel better, or could help mend a relationship, or just add a smile to somebody’s day. I know that sounds kind of schmaltzy but it really is something I bring to each new concept I work on.

Do you work in just one medium? Several?

I have always worked in watercolor with line art accents, but now by combining Photoshop with some other graphic programs I can replicate mediums that I am not necessarily proficient in for  real---and that’s pretty cool! I have also discovered a love for type since many of my new collections over the last few years have featured my original writing as part of the design.

What are you working on now? 

Since my husband Jim Marcotte and I are also agents, we’ve got a number of irons in the fire right now. We have several concepts that are going to see the light of day as a result of our efforts in Atlanta last month so they need final touches and art delivered. I just finished a grouping of personalized products that I’m pretty excited about, we are working on the upcoming refresh of our Life is Country® brand products plus we’re revamping our Two Town Studios website to better reflect the direction we’re going. We always have something happening—and if we don’t? We make it so!

Anything else you want to tell everyone?

I’m working on some follow-up materials to my book, License to Draw - How I built a fun career in Art Licensing and you can too!  (say that three times fast!). Writing the book has been a fantastic experience and I hope that my story of a humble start and continued success in this market can help others who might be trying to find their place in our world. My intent was to deliver the information in a friendly style that wouldn’t scare anybody (well, not too badly anyway!) but still give the readers a solid understanding of the business along with a little “you can do this!” as well.  I’ve gotten great feedback and it has really ignited my interest in following a new path creatively. I can’t wait to do more!

Are you an early riser? or night owl?

Definitely an early riser, always have been. My ideal day starts around 6:30 with some writing, drawing and the first of several large cups of tea.

What is your favorite food?

Can I please pick more than one?  I guess dark chocolate would go the tip top of the list but I love really good hearty bread, bacon (duh), coconut cake, and actually since I love to cook there are very few things I don’t like. I’m perfecting my Shrimp and Cheesy Grits recipe right now so that’s a fave. Oh, and is red wine a food?

(Click images to view larger)

You can find Ronnie:

Website and my blog:
www.ronniewalter.com

Two Town Studios website and Jim’s blog:
www.twotownstudios.com

Email:
ronniew@twotownstudios.com

Buy Ronnie's  book at Amazon

THANKS for stopping buy! Make my day and follow this blog :-D
Email me if you would like to be spotlighted anntroe@cox.net

Do You Take Pictures in Stores? (Art Licensing Research)

 

 

I LOVE visual reminders!

I wanted to bring up this topic that I ran into on social media somewhere. Ever since I joined the smart phone crowd last summer, I started snapping pics of things I see while out shopping. The above roosters are just to remind me I need to do some sort of rooster/chick collection. In the paintings above, I liked the complimentary colors used (blue and orange).

The other cool thing that happens is when I look at the photos months later - something completely different about the photo might inspire me!

I feel a bit "criminal" taking the photos! Not sure why. All they do is sit in my phone (until now!). I think it is because it isn't my store and I don't ask permission to take photos… That being said. I have been caught several times taking pictures and no one has minded in the least.

I am hoping to get a lawyers opinion as well as artists and agents. I know there are many others of you out there who do this too! So now that I have come out of the closet, do you like this sort of visual reminder for yourself?

Thanks for stopping by and commenting!