Stealing and Taking Credit for Artwork

While I was away on a trip to Copenhagen, Denmark, experiencing all the hygge it has to offer, I received a message on my Tumblr that my 13 Reasons Why watercolour piece was being used as a design on phone cases and sold across many sites. To my surprise my initial reaction was not of anger but more of amusement. But that might have been in part to do with the fact that I was on holiday and in a happy mood. I wasn't going to let anyone interrupt that.

To my knowledge this is the first time my artwork has been stolen and used elsewhere without credit being given to me, however I was aware that it was a possibility. My overall reach isn't the widest however my 13 Reasons Why painting is one that has gained a little more momentum on platforms like Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram. I completely understand why someone would think it was a good idea to put it on a phone case. I'm actually quite curious to know what it looks like on a phone but don't worry I don't intent on buying it. What I don't understand is why I wasn't contacted in any shape or form and that someone felt that they could just steal something that I put time and effort into and take all the credit for it.

The original watercolour piece

I should feel more pissed about this than I do. I would have definitely been more pissed off if I had felt the piece had been 100% mine - more personal and an original idea. However since I feel like the idea for the painting doesn't fully belong to me - the painting is very similar to the original reference photograph with the only changes being made to the background - I don't feel completely robbed. I should probably adjust this way of thinking because the work is mine and is being used for profit that isn't going into my pocket. At the end of the day my permission to use the image should have been seeked out.

Since receiving the message about my artwork (which by the way was really nice of that person to let me know!) I feel like I have been following breadcrumbs to find the route of the problem. My first contact was with Woo Pop Culture who responded to me fairly quickly and told me to "be aware it [my artwork] is on Aliexpress and thousands of dropshippers will be using it!!" They said they would pull the design but as of the posting date of this blog the design is still up on Woo Pop Culture. Currently I am contacting the multiple sellers of the phone case on AliExpress and trying to get information as to who their suppliers are. So far the only response I have gotten is so sorry we didn't know it was stolen and that their supply is bought from a "China website" (I mean is it that hard to send me the link. It's like talking to a brick wall!).

I won't be wasting too much time hunting down the supplier though but part of me wants to find the route of this all. What this situation has done is got me thinking about artwork thievery and fakery online and why people do it. As an artist I make sure to always sign my work if I plan to upload it online just so that if it is stolen you can clearly see that it is mine. But this alone still doesn't deter people from taking your work.

Online and especially on Instagram there is a large art community but unfortunately within that community there is often fakery and thievery. Sadly I have heard of many instances where people have taken someone else's artwork and claim it as their own. Some even tamper with reference photos and claim that they drew the image when in fact they have only tweaked a couple of things on Photoshop. I could never understand wanting to take credit for something that isn't yours or lying about whether it was drawn. You might be surprised to know there are a few people on Instagram who have very large followings but yet are fakes. These people have taken peoples money for commissions and then don't deliver what they promise. It is really unfortunate that these people still get any sort of recognition when the real talented people seldom get any.

Going forward I'm not sure what actions I can take to prevent this from happening again. I really don't want to resort to having to put large ugly watermarks on my work. If anyone has any advice I would gladly hear it. At least this all gave me a good laugh but if there is a next time I doubt I'll be laughing as much.

Hazel, xoxo       

Deviant Art Nostalgia and Online Art Communities

The caption on the picture reads "Here are some of ma old drawings from 2006. It amazes me how much I have improved." Oh Hazel... you're so modest! 

Who here remembers Deviant Art? I ask as if it is part of the past alongside sites like Bebo, Piczo and Freewebs but to my surprise the site is still up and running, with people still posting and taking part in the community. I only fully realised this recently when I decided to upload better quality images of some of my #sketchaday2016 to my abandoned Deviant Art page after figuring out how to work my scanner.

For those who don't know, Deviant Art is the original social networking site specifically for artists where people can post their work and update fellow artists with journals about exhibitions and so on. It was also where you can find inspiration and comment or critic other people's work. I always found it to be a friendly and positive environment, especially for those who where just in the beginning stages of learning what they could do (I make it sound like a place where youth learn of their magical powers... it's not unfortunately).

Currently I have two profiles on Deviant Art. My recent one - click here to view its wonders - and my original account which I don't have the heart to delete because it reads like a time capsule - Cuteasabutton-xo.

It was one of the first places where I uploaded my work online back in 2008 when I was fifteen. After my Bebo profile of course. I loved it! It was where I found artists to look up to. In some ways they where my teachers and taught me what was possible if I kept practicing. One of the first artists I followed was Zindy Nielsen. Most of her art consisted of fan art or portraits of random girls on clouds with butterfly wings. I was so impressed with her shading. She introduced me to the idea of blending and smudging. I tend not to do that anymore because personally I think it can often make things look too flat, especially since I wasn't great with varying my tones like Zindy was.

Deviant Art was also the place where I discovered the green eyed monster. I would see drawings people of a similar age to me had done and they would be so much better than me and I would simmer with jealousy. At least with older people they had years on me so logically I saw no reason to be jealous of them. But with my peers it was a different story. In my classes in school I had always been the best at art but online I wasn't. It was a harsh reality to face at first. My ego really took a bruising! My first journal entry makes me cringe so hard! Is English even my first language? I think this illustrates my point about jealousy quite well.

The journal entry after this one is me breathing a sigh of relief that I finally recieved comments and celebrating. Me... insecure? Never! Also it is important to note I am only listening to music while writing that journal entry and doing NOTHING else. However in a later journal entry I am eating smokey bacon crisps so it's all good!

Despite my jealousy of other artists skills, Deviant Art was always a positive environment. I never received any negative comments and since everyone on the site was an artist in some way we all understood each other and tried to build each other up. If a critique was to come your way it would be constructive unlike in popular social media. It felt like there was more of a relationship between you and your commenters. 

I bring this up because I have noticed quite a shift in the online art community. Even though people are still on Deviant Art the larger audience are on sites like Instagram and Tumblr where the conversation between the artist and followers seems to be a little stilted. Even though I still get nice comments they are less frequent, due to the love button, and less thoughtful.

The small community I do have on my social media are wonderful. They mainly consist of my family, friends and online friends I have got to know over the years (mostly through the Aly & AJ fandom - shoutout to violet buds!) There are a few new additions but it is very hard to expand your reach outside your own social circles. I'm not one to strategise and over advertise myself but I feel like that's what social media is now. Branding and marketing. I just can't shake the feeling it's not genuine. 

The popular format doesn't accommodate conversation very well, at least in my opinion. Now its not that I need complimentary comments, even though it feels good to get them. It's more that previously I felt like I was getting to know people on my social media before whereas now it's just a passing "nice" or "cool" and there is very little I can say back without sounding like a twat. 

I guess it is just the world we live in now where social media has become more of a scrolling activity instead of something you engage with. I guess I just have to adjust my expectations and join the bandwagon but I will miss the hay day of Deviant Art where I felt like I belonged to a community instead of being one of a million. Who knows, eventually I might be able to foster a community but for now I'll keep shouting into the wind. 

Nostalgia rant over! :)

Hazel, xoxo

Weepah Way For Now Experience

My closest friends know that I used to be a hardcore Aly and AJ fan back in the day and if I'm honest with myself, I still am. So when I heard that their independent movie, Weepah Way For Now, that is loosely based on their lives, was coming to the Glasgow Film Festival I jumped at the chance to see it.

My overall thoughts of the movie was that it was surprisingly hilarious but on a note more relevant to this blog, just gorgeous to look at. The director Stephen Pierce Ringer is a talented photographer and directed both Leighton Meester's Heartstrings music video and Aly and AJ's (formerly 78Violet) Hothouse music video so I knew before seeing the film that I was going to love its look.

He did not disappoint. It has a dreamy, warm glow to it that just makes me want to paint and draw every scene. So as part of my sketch a day naturally I did a sketch to mark the occasion and thought nothing much of it once I uploaded it. 

Soon after uploading AJ commented on my post complimenting the drawing and as if it couldn't have got any better uploaded the picture to her Instagram account. As you can imagine I was freaking out! It's always nice to see your work recognised especially by people you admire yourself. Chances are this probably won't happen anytime soon again so I'm just going to bask in this glory and excitement in the meantime.

All the Links

I thought it would be handy put all my links up all in one place. Chances are I'll probably make a separate page for this later on but for now this will do. I'm most active on my Instagram, Tumblr & Facebook currently but there are some other links in here too, in case you want to do a little nosey!

Tumblr - www.hazelstewartart.tumblr.com

Facebook - www.facebook.com/hazelstewartart

Deviantart - www.hazelstewart.deviantart.com & my old account cuteasabutton-xo

Instagram - hazelstewart93

Twitter - hazelstewart93

Pinterest - hazelstewart93