Thank you for your report!
We have received your report and it is currently under investigation by a forum moderator.
Widnes Library Victoria Square
Welcome to the forum.
Here you can discuss all things art with like-minded artists, join regular painting challenges, ask questions, buy and sell art materials and much more.
Make sure you sign in or register to join the discussions.
Hang on Studio Wall
This is a Studio member-only feature!
Join our Studio membership and save your favourite Painters Online content, from gallery artwork to step-by-step guides, to your own online mood boards. Create your go-to place for inspiration and learning. Plus, members can also enjoy a range of exciting features including monthly art videos and a digital magazine library.
If you are already a Studio member, simply login to your account.
Not a Studio member? Why not try our free 30-day trial - no commitment, no credit card required
Message
Posted
f I modify a picture is it still copyrighted?
If you modify a picture, it is still copyrighted. Before you modify a picture you should get permission from the original creator of the picture.
If I see something I want to copy Bari I ask permission from the originator. Usually they are delighted. Copyright is quite serious and can cost. I’m not being an awkward person/ cow I am serious. Ok your stuff will probably never be seen… but you can never be sure. Someone on here many years ago took one of my paintings and altered it. I was not impressed . If they had asked I would probably have said go ahead. As it was they had the courtesy to remove it.
Another Artist on this site ( she hasn’t posted for a long time) her work is brilliant. A lot of it had been stolen for financial gain from third parties and she is not happy with the perpetrators .
Edited
by Sylvia Evans
Posted
I agree but rules is rules…. You could go and sit in front of it and draw it. Though I Once got stopped sketching a carving in the House of Commons…you could als find out who took the original pic and ask for permission. It’s all about protection and if someone copied one of your original paintings would you be happy about it.? Just be aware. I think i would try and get permission.
Or choose a nice day take a buttie and a bottle and draw from life .
Posted
it would seem if you wish to take a photo of a building or draw it you should have permissionI don't think that can be correct, Bari. Especially if you are on the public highway (unless you are causing an obstruction). There may be local rules pertaining to photos taken on private property. And that would be for reasons of privacy or security, not copyright. There certainly are blanket rules in Royal Parks and government locations, but they usually apply only to professional photographers and TV crews (trust me, I've been there!) - otherwise very tourist would be nicked! Sylvia makes a good point about seeking permission first. But if can't and you are not invading privacy or using material for professional or criminal activities, you should be ok. The only copyright that comes into play is yours, on the drawings you produce. Your drawings become your intellectual copyright and publishing your pictures on here does not take away your ownership. (Been there too). (That is my understanding from experience filming on location over many years.)
Posted
We have an expert on this subject on the forum - he's addressed it quite often before. I think that generally, if you draw a public building (provided it's not the most secret bit of MI 5's property portfolio) there's unlikely to be a problem. Eg, there are hundreds of drawings, paintings, photographs of Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Balmoral, St Paul's Cathedral, the Liver Building - I can't imagine that every single one obtained specific permission (at least to represent the outer parts). On the other hand, painting the Misses Golightly's little cottage - especially if a Miss Golightly is featured in it - could be a problem: and I would never paint someone's house and make it recognizable without seeking the owner's permission. So Bide-a-Wee Cottage, Gurgler's Lane, remains unpainted - unless of course there's a commission in it.
Well, that's not entirely true - I have but recently painted a house around a corner or two from here, but as it was - not as it is today: it's been changed so much, and I altered a lot of the surrounding detail to take it back to the 19th century, that I can call it a fisherman's cottage - which it certainly isn't now - without, I hope, offending the current owner or risking a legal action.
But do not take any of this as legal advice: whether the current owner of a property or its tenant really has copyright control of it is, I think, dubious at best - but I'll willingly give way to the experts.
Posted
I once was happily painting a Canal scene in Saddleworth. After some time a gentleman came along and said ‘that narrowboat is mine’, I did not give you permission to draw it!
I told him it was some distance away and that the towpath I was sitting on was presumably the Councils property. Thankfully that seemed to satisfy him, or else I might have ended up in the canal! I think if you are not blocking a right of way and not on private land you are ok.
