There Are Art Thieves About!

Well, I found one of my paintings posted on another website without my permission and I've heard from other artists that their art is also being stolen.

It amazes me that people who cruise the internet have so little regard for copyright law and even if they know about it, they think it doesn't apply to them.

Listen up all of you who would snag some art or a photo or even some text from a website to use the way you want to.  It's a copyright violation. It's illegal in most countries of the world. 

Just because it's on the internet doesn't mean that it's free for the taking.  How would you like it if I took your car just because it was parked on a public street?

Even if you don't intend to use anything for your own profit, it's still a copyright violation and illegal to even take it to begin with.  If you plan to claim you can use it under the Fair Use act, please be sure to read the rules concerning Fair Use!  Nine times out of ten, your use won't qualify!

Unfortunately, to help thwart would-be thieves, the watermark above will appear on all of my art and photos.  Yes, it will cover a goodly portion of any artwork, but it will be made mostly transparent so that the art can be seen while the text is still readable. 

I dislike having to do this but a few rotten apples spoil the whole barrel for the people who are honest and just want to look at art and photos!  For the artists who stop by, I would urge you to do whatever you can to help stop your art from being posted in other places or used without your permission.  If you would like to know how to make a watermark for your art, there are tutorials all over the web.  Just search for "watermarks + your graphic software name & version".