Expressionism

[Brian_Bullard]

Hi, Arlene said she was interested in seeing some of my work, so here's the latest. I gave a painting class on Saturday night and the group wanted to "do something abstract"...okayyyy.

Somebody had a photo of a work and I explained we couldn't do a copy because it was a legally protected work of a contemporary artist (that got a lot of "boos", hehe!) and we didn't have a license.

So, to get them inspired (and stop ridiculing me) I just started them blending alla prima colors in the background. Hearing conversation between them, I could tell there was a common topic going around, and this is what I used for subject matter to guide from there.

Can you tell what the topic was? Any guess at the different elements? I'll elaborate after some guesses.

[anita]

I see a window in the ocean and a suitcase on a pier.

[Brian_Bullard]

Right, Anita, the theme was "travel", as I overheard a lot of people talking where they were from during the background painting. One guy had played pro basketball in Poland for a while, that was wild. A man and wife had just returned from 3 years in Iraq as independent contractors and traveled the world in between, he's pictured below.

Started with the suitcase, the image on the left was like books...the sky, I have a small plane shooting in from the right. The window represents many hotel windows, the right side the ocean, the left, a flowing Vesuvius near Pompeii, both my favorite places traveled (I love your Roman work, BTW).

The husband back from Iraq, Rod, his painting blew me away and now I wish I would have bought it (as if he would have parted with it). The pic doesn't do it justice, it was quite obvious it was a bird in the middle, really had movement, and I didn't coach him on that part at all, he'd never touched a brush in his life (go figure!)

[arlene]

Brian, thanks for posting. I like the loose style and almost abstract feel of this.

[Brian_Bullard]

Thanks Arlene, about 60 minutes in it with the rest of the time helping others, I hear you'll be "speed painting" soon and can't wait to see pics!

[1st year apprentice]

We look so often to be surprised at Talent shown by first timers.

Good teaching is part of the secret, as can be seen in the Bblending alla prima colors in the background ) . plus the vision of the participant and there method ef expressing there thoughts. Rod did all of these so well.

His Imagination to be applauded

You did not to bad yerself Brian.

Brian.

[Brian_Bullard]

Thanks Brian

[1st year apprentice]

Einstein Said " creativity is contagious pass it on" You and your like on F/F do.

Many thanks Brian

[Quigley]

Brian B, I am curious about your take on the lines we should not cross as artists reproducing other artist's work. When I took my first portrait class we were assigned to pick ANYTHING other than someone we knew or were related to. I chose Steve McCurry's photo of the Afghan Girl as that is my all time favorite portrait. Nobody ever said anything about any legal line because we were just art students creating crap that nobody would ever even care about....do you think I crossed a line? What if it is not for sale and for my own person......Steve McCurry's work is photography and I wanted a painting....is there a line there? What if I wanted to do a work of someone living....say you or Obama.....do I need permission?.....What about the reproduction/study of dead artist, like the Bouguereau's I am studying now.....am I crossing a line I don't know about?.....hope this isn't to many questions.....BTW...seeing tread's of students creating art are my favorite reads.....do you have more classes you photo documented?

[Brian_Bullard]

Hi Quigley, very good questions and I'm happy to answer. When used for the purpose of your education, your painting / study didn't infringe any copyrights. If you were to turn around and sell the painting, that's different, because it generates a profit from a product that was definitely a "derivative" of his photograph. In order to do this legally, you would need a "license" from the artist.

If, on the other hand, your instructor started every class out with the same photo, it's a fine line whether they can claim "education" as the sole use, as they put it into the curriculum, which generates profit.

Obama is considered a "public figure", so your painting would be allowed. An artist became known for specializing in portraits of Alan Greenspan, perfectly legal. The question is whose photography was used for reference? If it was a TIME Magazine shot, and it was perfectly recognizable as a copy, the artist would need a license from the photographer.

If you painted an image of your neighbor and planned on sales, it would be a good idea to get a signed agreement.

The estate of Elvis vehemently pursues infringements on their copyrights. They even went after a bar in Houston named "The Velvet Elvis". When you see legal sales, such as on t-shirts and other products, that involves licensing. You can do Elvis portraits and sell them, claiming he's a public or historical figure, but if the estate gets word, you're likely to get a "cease and desist" order at the absolute minimum.

Bouguereau died in 1905 (bless his soul), so his art fits into the "70 year realm", and is "free use".

On a forum of many muralists, one might wonder, "But what about Disney characters, Dr. Seuss, Sesame Street, NFL football logos, etc?" Yes, these are all copyrighted. Is it illegal to copy them for a customer? Technically, yes. The best advice I can give is that if you're so inclined to do such a painting, don't put it on the very front of your website, or become world famous for doing great Disney copies. Instead, try to get a license from the entity so you can reproduce their work or brand logos.

A common myth about copyrights is that "it's okay as long as you change the work 20% or more", not true at all.

There are a lot of references for "royalty free" material - clip art books, websites where you can buy images and get a license. One of my favorite ways is to shoot my own photos. The zoo and the outdoors is a great place for wildlife artists to get reference material.

I try to photo all I can, in faux or mural class or the fine arts, it's fun seeing them create and I get tons of ideas, they literally have no fear. I'll probably put new ones up once monthly, along with my "mystery artist" friend I put on the recent "concrete" posting.

[Quigley]

You are a good egg amigo....thanks for your trouble

[Brian_Bullard]

My pleasure, Q, keep knocking out those Bouguereau works, fascinating!