What bothers me about this is that as a person living in Dane County, who doesn't travel all that much, I'm missing out on painting so many exotic or interesting landscapes from around the world. I've always wanted to paint mountains, deserts, the Maine seashore, etc. and it would be nice if I could lay claim to ownership of the resultant paintings. There is, however, one way around (at least partially) this dilemma. It's provided by Google Earth which in my opinion is one of the greatest inventions ever.
It's so cool to be able to ponder the entire surface of the world, then zoom in on one particular spot, and then enter the "street view" mode and see actual photographs of views from a street. And, guess what, Google has confirmed that there are no copyright issues with use of these images. So I could sell a painting that I paint from a Google image. But, still, since I didn't come up with the image, can I say it's "my painting"? I think I'm getting confused.
Here's a painting I did a few years ago from a Google image. No, it's not a scene from Stoughton! It's from the Google street view of Rome, Italy. Note I didn't sign it because it wasn't from my photo image, but I can post it and even sell it. I guess it's a Google-Gilbert collaberation.
Tom
Wow! I love the Rome painting. And you are right about Google Streetwise being a great way to paint exotic locations. There's a website called the Virtual Paintout and each month they use a different location on Streetwise to paint from. I've done it a few times and it's fun. I see that the artist who moderates the blog is taking a break after doing it for years but said he would be back in January. There are other ways around this dilemma without infringing on copyrights. You can use several references and come up with an image that is different enough from any of the originals so as not to be a copy of it. And there are several online resources for free reference photos that can safely be used. A good thing about Streetview is that the photos are not professional finished photos and they force you to choose how to compose the painting and what to leave in or out. It feels a bit more like plein air painting. Rarely can you get a still from their video that is a perfect composition with great values, color, etc. It's a good challenge and when you are stuck indoors in winter it is fun to "go" somewhere warmer!
ReplyDeleteI think Tom makes a good point about how we need to be careful of how we use photo references. In reading about photo copyrights I read that it is also an infringement to use a copyrighted photo on one's blog so I went back and removed a few from old posts that I had used as examples of sites where we were going to paint. It's a good thing to be mindful of.
(I did think the barge painting was really good, though!!)
I meant Street View! I am going to try one today. Gotta go somewhere warm! I see that The Virtual Paintout site guy has been taking a break since October but said he would be back in January. Some very accomplished painters posted work on the site and it was interesting to see so many different ways to use the image.
ReplyDeletePat, that's a good observation about street view being a series of photos along a road and not one particular shot that was carefully composed by the photographer. So, it's true, you still have to search around and find a scene worth painting and usually rearrange it to some extent. Just like real plein air painting.
ReplyDeleteI do not think there is any problem with practicing using someone else's photos or painting as long as you identify as such - which you did - and do not enter it into a show or try to sell it.
ReplyDeleteThere is also the "fair use" concept that you can use someone else's reference if what you do is transformative enough. But it's not worth it to possibly end up in court.
"Free" reference photos - Royalty free is not necessarily copyright free.
What an awesome idea for getting ideas to paint. I've played with Google maps and "walked" all around Venice once but I seem to recall a fish eyed effect. I'll have to check it out with a new eye. I'll bet you can get permission from the paper to use that photo for a painting. I think you should absolutely sign and be able to sell that painting if you want!
ReplyDelete