As an artist, I work very hard to create something uniquely my own, the thought of someone outright ripping it off would be totally offensive and just plain wrong. It’s also thievery, plain & simple. I would like to point out that plagiarism is never a good idea, never on God’s green earth. My blog is totally written by me and me alone. I may shamelessly lift a quote here or there but I do give credit to the owner. I must admit the The Golden Girls quotes are just too good to pass up sometimes. They naturally roll off the tongue, at least for me and my friends. The point is, give credit where credit is due. The same goes for my artwork. I do get inspiration from other sources but I use it to create my own brand of magic because you can’t steal someone elses. Just ask any Marilyn Monroe impersonator. When I want to use a picture I make sure it is in the Public domain, which means the intellectual rights have expired. Beethoven and Shakespeare are a perfect examples. You can use their work for your own purposes all day, everyday since they can’t sue you.
Sometimes there is a gray area and you’re really not sure. That’s why I usually use an old, old photo just to lessen the likelyhood of getting sued by some moneygrabbing, obscure relative. If you want to use a current photo, you should check out stock photos online which can be purchased for a small fee. I use these for blogging purposes because I don’t always have to time to get my own material. For art purposes I use the public domain photos to add something to my work while giving new life to an old piece. I like to use silent film star photos which are almost 100 years old because they inspire me and everybody is long dead. I hope Clara Bow’s last living son doesn’t crawl out of the woodwork to sue me. I adore her and I do use her image sometimes so that’s the chance I am willing to take. I would tell him just that iffin he did try to take me to court. Hopefully *holds breath* he has bigger fish to fry.
Let’s go back to the pictures we know to be public domain. Let’s use the Mona Lisa for example. People use her to make all sorts of points. An Italian restaurant I used to frequent in Louisiana used her in their logo with spaghetti hanging out of her mouth. There is also a popular photo that crops up online and other place from time to time with Mona before America and Mona after. Needless to say, the ‘after’ has her sporting bleached hair, tons of makeup and big, fake bosoms glued to her chest. We can do whatever we want with Mona since her image is public property. She has been there since the Rennaissance and is now in the public domain. We can use her image as we wish but I am sure if I just showed up at an art show with a copy of Mona on the wall,with nothing done to her, people would not take what I do seriously. My advice to you is, if you want to be a serious artist, use your own material or something that belongs to everyone then make it in your own image. DO NOT copy it. Put your own stamp on it. Mr. Da Vinci is not going to sue you and neither is Shakespeare and if their relatives try, good luck to them they will need the services of Judge Judy.
This has come to the forefront because an artist in Florida, Josafat Miranda has unscrupulously taken someone elses photographs and turned them into paintings. Here see for yourself in this blog post. This is every hardworking artist’s nightmare. Mr. Miranda’s painting are good but he blatantly ripped off a photographer. She might not have cared as if he had given credit to her but we don’t know, he didn’t ask. This was her hard work and he used it as his own gain. That is stealing. He has great talent, obviously, so it’s a shame he had to go this route. Now his name is sullied and he can’t sell anything. This doesn’t benefit anyone. Well, there are exceptions.
Lady Gaga comes to mind here. To me she is a talentless hack living off of other artist’s ideas and she has made untold millions. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen her rip of another artist, mainly Madonna. Needless to say, I’ve never been a fan. Her young fans think she is just so original because they don’t have enough life experience to know otherwise. I on the other hand, have been around since the 70′s. I can see things with my old eyes. We older people call her out on it as have the South African rap group Die Antwoord. Not that I am into Satanic rappers but she’s a hack and they know it. Mark my words, lifting someone elses ideas and passing them on as your own will come back to you in the end. Promise 
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