Recently I learned someone used my artwork to create a product & sell it in the marketplace, which was producing profits until I found out about it. The issue has been bugging me, because it's not the first time it has happened. I fully recognize that in our digital world, information is readily available. It must be tempting to know that with the simple click of a mouse an image can be captured and used however you wish. I'm pleased to know that someone liked my artwork, but there's a line drawn when that work is reproduced & sold without my permission. I register my paintings with the US Copyright Office, and I do that at additional expense to ensure that my rights (and my blood, sweat and tears) are protected.
So people, I implore you not to use my artwork without permission. . .When you do you're taking revenue away from me (and food off my table), and I am trying desperately to dispel that description of the "starving artist"!
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