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Copyright Protection for Visual Artists: The Truth and Misconceptions

Today we will discuss how copyright law works and how you may not be as protected as you think.

Full disclosure: I am not an attorney. Please research laws for your own country and circumstance. These are general guidelines for artists in the United States.

As soon as you complete a work of art, you hold the copyright to that work. But unless you register that copyright, you don’t have very much protection.

The most you might be able to do is have someone take down your work from their website or stop selling prints of your work. And even then, you might not be afforded those protections because some countries don’t follow US copyright guidelines.

If you do not file your copyright, you cannot collect statutory damages or legal fees. Damages for copyright infringement can be very significant.

You could collect up to $30,000 if someone unwillingly infringes your work and $150,000 if someone willingly infringes your copyright.

So, for example, if Target steals your greeting card ideas and puts you out of business, the most you could do, if you are lucky, is get them to stop. You could not collect any money for the damages caused by putting you out of business.

So, as you can see, someone could steal your entire business and you would be left with nothing unless you register a copyright.

And you must register in a timely manner because you can only collect these benefits if you register within three months of publishing a work. And you can’t collect damages and fees if you register after infringement occurs.

It’s only about $30 to register with the copyright office at copyright.gov.

If you do it before you publish your work, you can do it as an entire collection. But after you publish, each must be filed individually.

WHAT COPYRIGHT TIPS DO YOU HAVE? Leave a comment. I’d love to chat with you.

Stop back tomorrow for more painting tips.

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How to Simplify Oil Painting Materials and Supplies

For today’s tip, we will discuss how to keep oil painting supplies simplified and organized.

It seems obvious: an organized studio makes it easier to paint. But life is busy and sometimes it’s hard to stay on top of painting supplies. That’s why I use this simple method.

First, I use a limited palette of just three primaries, burnt umber, and white. That’s less paint to purchase, store, and manage.

Aside from a few drops of M Graham walnut oil now and then, I don’t use solvents or mediums. That’s also less to organize and manage. The M Graham oil paint I use is so soft it doesn’t require mediums.

Now here’s a great tip. I keep my brushes in a small paint roller tray with Gamblin Safflower oil so my brushes are always ready to use, and I rarely have to clean them. Less time cleaning means more time painting.

My Princeton aspen oil paint brushes in Gamblin safflower oil and a small paint roller tray​ from Home Depot
My Princeton aspen oil paint brushes in Gamblin safflower oil and a small paint roller tray from Home Depot

(You can learn more about how I clean my brushes with oil and no solvent on the Gallery Bry YouTube channel.)

I always have paint on my palette, and I keep it in the freezer so the extra paint does not dry.

It’s these simple tips that enable me to create a painting at the drop of a hat and spend less time organizing and managing supplies.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TIP TO STAY ORGANIZED⁉️ Leave me a comment. I’d love to chat and answer your questions.

Stop back here tomorrow for more oil painting tips every single day.

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How to Sell Your Art Online Successfully: Art Marketing Ideas to Sell Your Art for Beginners

Do you want to start selling art online but don’t know where to start? Then keep reading because this is just for you.

After reading this post you will learn several places to sell your work online and various ways to market it. This is just a starting point and I will cover all these topics in far more detail in future posts.

The first thing you need is to have a body of work to sell. You can post a single painting for sale, but it helps if you have at least 10-20 works of art to fill a shop. It shows customers you are serious and gives them a feeling for your style.

Next you need a shop. If you are just getting started, sites like Etsy, Ebay, and Saatchi are good places to start because they can be cheaper than maintaining a website. Do a little research to see what platform you like best. I started with Etsy and it has worked well for me. These sites are also good places to start because they have millions of users and can get you some traffic if you have yet to grow your own collector base. But you still have to do your own marketing; you can’t simply post art and wait for the sales to roll in. That doesn’t happen and that’s why many people get frustrated with sites like these.

Ideally you will want your own website because it looks more professional, and, more importantly, it gives you more independence and enables you to play by your own rules. Until you have your own site, you are essentially building a house on rented land. And if the owner of that land disappears or changes the rules, you could lose your house. Having your own site will give you control over the presentation of your art and enable you to collect contact information for a mailing list too.

Having a mailing list is essential because it gives you a direct line of communication with your collectors. It also is a secure way to always stay in contact with you audience. Social media like Instagram is a key component to marketing, but if it ever goes away or becomes ineffective, you will always have your email list. Nobody can take that from you. You need to be in control of the line of communication with your collectors.

There are many providers of email marketing software. Mail chimp has a free option if you have a list under 2000 subscribers. But there are many other companies so research them and see which works for you.

With that said, social media like Instagram is still essential to marketing your art. Currently, Instagram is one of the best platforms for building an audience for your brand, completely free. But mastering Instagram is a skill that takes much practice, testing, and research. It may be free, but you have to invest a lot of time for it to be effective.

I offer consulting calls and can help you master Instagram. I’ve been organically growing my following by more than 1000 followers per month, and you can too. Email me to schedule a call.

Another powerful marketing platform is YouTube. Providing educational videos is a great form of content marketing. By teaching others, you get to help people learn painting, and it also helps them discover you and your own paintings.

So let’s review, to successfully sell artwork online, you will need a cohesive body of work that can easily convey your style, a shop (ideally a website), an active and growing mailing list, and a solid presence on Instagram YouTube or other social media platform.

If you are missing one of these components, it could significantly impact your sales. Above all else, you need to be flexible and able to change your system at any time. Technology changes at a rapid pace, and if you don’t change with technology, you will get left in the past, and so will your sales. You have to be hungry. You have to want it more than your competitors. Always be on your toes.