This is one of the questions I received from an artist:
Is it okay to make and sell print reproductions of a painting that was commissioned by a collector?
My answer: Yes, absolutely! Selling print reproductions of your work is a smart business model that enables an artist to earn money again and again from one painting.
This works very much like a musical artist: They don’t sell a song to just one person, they sell it again and again, to enable many people to enjoy it, and to continue earning revenues from it.
Out of every twenty art pieces you create, one will stand out above the other nineteen as a popular image, perfect for selling reproductions. It is the popular images that successful artists earn their living off of. If it’s iconic enough, you will earn from it for the rest of your life.
A great example is the very popular Endless Summer art by John Van Hamersveld; he created this iconic image in 1964 for The Endless Summer movie poster. I’m pretty sure Van Hamersveld had no idea, in 1964, just how iconic this image would become, and that fifty years later he would still be selling prints of it.
We do not have a crystal ball, so we can’t possibly know which art piece will be the winner. What you love, as the artist, is usually not what everyone else loves. And vice-versa. You have to assume that any one of them may become popular or iconic, and be prepared for it.
Since Drew and I can’t know for sure which images will be popular, we ensure that every painting he creates is properly scanned and saved in a high res file before we ship the original to its new owner.
Even if we choose not to make print reproductions of the work, we still need the high res files so that we are prepared when we need an image for a printed book or magazine article.
We never let a piece of art leave the studio without getting a scan of it.
Drew created a painting for a collector called DEEP INTO PARADISE a few years ago. We recently released limited edition, signed and numbered canvas reproductions of the work, and it has surprisingly become one of our new popular images. We sold over a dozen of the canvas prints in the first day of releasing it. This is great for the owner of the original, as the value of his piece has increased. He’s the only one with the original!
The next question in your mind may be this: “But won’t your buyer of the original be upset if their art is reproduced?”
It depends on who your collectors are. If you are only selling in high end galleries and your pieces are going for over $20,000 each, maybe it will be an issue with the gallery owners. Or if you’re painting portraits, you shouldn’t reproduce something that personal. But for most artists who are reading this, it will be entirely okay for you to adopt this business model.
Be sure that your collectors are aware that there’s a possibility of reproduction in the future. Include a line in your written price quote/proposal that says something like this: “Artwork copyrights are retained by the Artist (me) and I retain the rights to reproduce the art in the future.”
I’ve only had one person, out of almost twenty years of selling Drew’s art, question this practice. It was a gallery owner in Laguna Beach, who insisted that Drew’s collectors won’t appreciate seeing their painting on reproductions. I worried he might be right. So I spent a few days cold calling over fifty of Drew’s collectors.
I asked them one question: “As an owner of one of Drew’s original paintings, would it bother you to see the art reproduced?”
It was surprising the positive responses I got. One collector said, “I saw my Drew painting on a skimboard in Florida last summer and I was so happy! I have the original hanging in my home. I felt great about it.”
Every single person I asked said that it would be okay, and most expressed pride at owning the original piece of art.
Except for one guy; he was the last phone call I made. He said he wanted the art all to himself and would be angry to find that it had been reproduced. After I explained to him the business model and how it would increase the value of his work, he changed his feelings about it! (Ironically enough, the painting he owns will never be reproduced, as it isn’t one that would have mass appeal.)
What I learned from that exercise was this; most all of Drew’s collectors understand how Drew works with art and they love being a part of the story. They respect our business model, as we have “trained” people to know what to expect. It’s important to us to keep our collectors happy and we have life long relationships with many of them.
Our BUSINESS MODEL is to sell art print reproductions on paper or canvas, and/or license the work, of any of the paintings that Drew creates.
Only the artist can decide what BUSINESS MODEL they want to use for themselves.
Your collector’s can’t dictate your business model, no more than you can dictate what they do with their business.
It’s up to YOU, as an artist, to decide HOW you will run your own business. If you decide that this isn’t the best course of action for the type of art that you create, then don’t do it. (Artists who paint portraits or other forms of deeply personal art, or those who sell highly priced art to a collector base who would frown upon it, would probably not want to sell reproductions.)
But, if you feel that it works well for the type of work you do, then do it.
I have found that 99% of the people in the world will respect your business model, when it’s clearly defined. No one will argue with your business model!
For us, it makes financial sense to use this business model, as it has enabled us to raise our family and run a successful art studio business in a Southern California beach town, all from Drew’s art. If we only got paid only once for every painting, Drew would have to triple his prices and work triple hard. This method allows us to leverage his art.
This is how it works: When a collector commissions an art piece, they pay for ownership of the physical painting. They only own the rights to the physical piece.
We retain the copyrights to all of Drew’s work, which means we can reproduce it in any way we wish. Often, we will make paper or canvas reproductions of Drew’s commissioned pieces available to the public. (An exception: When there are people in the painting or highly personal elements, etc. We don’t reproduce those, as they are very personal to the buyer.)
It’s a great way to earn a living, as you are being paid to create the art, and then you are paid again and again when you continue to sell reproductions of it.
The buyer of the original benefits, because this practice helps to raise the value of their original art piece. It enables us to continue to earn money again and again from one painting. And, it makes the art available via lower cost art reproductions, to people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford an original. This practice is a win-win-win for all.
Please, share in the comments, are you using this practice? If not, why? If so, how is it working out for you?
Would love to hear your take on this.
Hugs xxoo
Maria
PS: To make it clear to your buyers that you retain copyrights to the art, you could print a statement such as this one on all of your emails and invoices: “Artist retains copyright ownership and all reproduction rights to the artwork. The artwork may not be reproduced in any manner, whatsoever, without a written and signed agreement by Artist.”
51 Responses
Thank you Maria, I really appreciated this post as it’s something I’ve often asked myself and once asked a famous business coach. She herself had commissioned art and didn’t feel that would be a good practice.
These days, my commissions are Soul Energy Portraits that are co-created with the person’s team of Divine Helpers and involve energy work, life coaching, etc. I wouldn’t feel comfortable reproducing those except for editorial purposes like on my blog, but I’m glad to have this different perspective for commissioned work in general.
Namaste
Dominique, thank you for the comment and for sharing your thoughts.
It sounds like your work is highly personal to each client, and I can see why you don’t want to reproduce the art. It’s too personal to share with the world.
I love the description of what you do – there are many more artists getting into this type of work and I just love it!
I like this post Maria! As you say the art we create is ours, we own it, even if it is bought by someone else. So why would I not make as much money as I can from my artwork? In fact I once had someone say to me – I want to buy this painting, but I don’t want it used anywhere else. No cards, no print reproductions. I told her that yes I could do that, but she would have to pay quite a bit extra for that privilege. Enough to recompense me for the money I would lose in selling reproductions of it. She didn’t buy the painting, but I did sell it to another buyer and have made quite a lot of money from reproductions. Look after yourselves first!
Thanks for the comment, Fiona!
It’s really just a business decision that each artist has to make for themselves. There is no right or wrong, it’s just “what do you want for your art?”
Having reproductions out in the world does not hurt the value of a painting – Picasso’s work is printed on many different items and his originals sell in the millions!
Drew and I personally want his art to be accessible to the people who want it, and not only those who can afford an original.
Glad you sold that piece and held out on the copyrights!
You obviously misunderstood the question, they asked re a commissioned piece of art meaning that someone requested a painting of a certain subject perhaps a pet or a family member. I would be extremely upset if I commissioned someone to do a painting of my wife or daughter and see prints in Walmart. However if it was a piece of art that I created of my own image idea that’s a different story.
Marc De Groote
Dear Marc, thanks for the comment. The artist who emailed asked if it was okay to make prints of a commissioned painting (not a commissioned portrait).
If you create a painting for a collector, and it’s worthy of reproducing (and it’s not a portrait), it’s an opportunity to earn more from the art while sharing it with the world.
One of our collectors, who owns about five of Drew’s paintings, loves that one of her paintings was printed on City of San Clemente street flags. She said it makes her happy every time she drives by it.
I agree with you, I would never try to sell prints of portraits, as they are too personal. And trust me, portraits of our families wouldn’t sell very well anyway! 🙂
Thanks for reading!
I enjoy your newsletter, and usually am too lazy to comment. (my bad) But I had to jump in here on this one. It actually has nothing to do with business models or customer “permission” if you want to reproduce your work. YOU OWN THE COPYRIGHT UNLESS YOU EXPRESSLY GRANT IT IN WRITING TO THE BUYER OF A PIECE.
Does it make sense to let buyers know this upfront, so they don’t get their panties in a twist? Yes. After all, you want happy customers. Or you can tell them, your artwork will be exclusive to you, but I have to charge you $10,000 (or whatever) for exclusivity rights, in addition to the price of the piece.
I believe there are different cases in the case of “work for hire” which COULD include commissions, if they are worded that way in the contract. But usually WFH is when you are doing assigned work for a company. (Not to be confused with WTF)
Okay. rant over. I’ll crawl back under my rock now.
(FYI on the information tag on all my paintings, I include the phrase “all rights reserved by the artist” It’s not a legal term as far as I know, but it does give you a talking point when a person who buys a painting gets mad when they see it on a garden tour poster, for instance.)
Anne, thanks for weighing in on this! Yes, I agree, your collectors should be made aware that there’s a possibility that their painting may end up reproduced. I’d never want a client to be surprised later!
Hi Maria,
I have produced my originals including commission works for years. I mainly am commissioned for pet portraits and I have produced many pets to greeting card, and posters which I sell on my Etsy store amongst other places.
I have no problem using a commissioned piece as I am aware of copyright law, But I ALWAYS tell my client about my plans to use the artwork created especially for them.
More important than the business model or the potential monetary gain, is the consideration they deserve to know about the plans for their image/piece, which in most of my cases is extremely important and personal, AND lets not forget would not exist with out their hiring us in the first place.
In my mind, reproducing any piece of commission work without first at least telling the client would be very inconsiderate and unprofessional.
And as you have stated, ALL of my clients love the idea of there artwork being out there available to the masses!
NOW… How do we market and sell these newly produced pieces of affordable art, that our gracious clients have given there blessings on?
Thank you as always,
Cy
https://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtByCy
Cy, I totally agree with everything you said!
I would imagine, when painting pet portraits, you would want to be absolutely sure that your collector is okay with you reproducing the work, as it is so personal to them.
It’s always very important to me that our clients are happy and that we maintain long term relationships with them.
I’m not really selling reprints now, but even when I was, I felt uncomfortable selling repros of people’s pet portraits. Seemed too personal. So even though I retained that right, I didn’t exercise it. When the buyer knows up front how copyright works, they won’t be unpleasantly surprised later. I’d only do a work for hire if I was paid for that kind of exclusivity, or the work was of no commercial use to me afterwards, e.g. a logo, I’d never sell reprints of or use for myself in any way except to say I did it. When I was younger I painted murals, etc, for companies, and they were works for hire; I was an employee. I had a hunch that I should never mingle my personal work with theirs, though at the time I didn’t know what this section of the law was called. Now, I’m glad my instinct told me to keep my personal work out of my day job.
Agree that you often need a professional image capture. Many of us can do well enough with small pieces, but the bigger it gets, the more likely it’ll have flaws and won’t make nice reprints, at least not at full size. I have not always been as vigilant about getting GOOD shots/scans before it left the studio as I probably should be. Not selling reprints has something to do with that. But once in awhile, I finish a piece so close to the day it’s installed in a show, there is really no chance. Once in awhile if I think it has potential as future repro’s, I almost hope a piece won’t sell; that’ll give me time to get a good shot/scan after the show.
Cindy, thanks for the comment! I can understand you not wanting to reproduce portraits, even of pets. It’s too personal to your collectors, and in the end, we want to keep our collectors happy!
I know I am responding 2 years later but I thought it worth pointing out that, aside from the personal nature of the image, if you worked from client photos for a pet or person portrait – especially if you worked from a single photo – then the copyright is retained by the photographer for that image. You would have to start proving the difference between an artwork derived from the photos and one that was a copy. If an artist made a copy of a photo of a dog and then reproduced the Artwork, they could be falling foul of copyright laws themselves! In this scenario, I guess getting permission from the photograph owner is the way allow for reprints.
Hi Maria,
Great post, i absolutely agree, prints can definitely support an artist’s practice and I also see it as our right to make full use of it if it suits.
My dilemma is this: I often create digital work, so even if I start out with watercolour for example, the piece will be finished digitally and will therefore never exist as an “original” where you can see every brush stroke etc. The commissioning client will also only be able to get a reproduction of sorts as it is the only way to make the piece “real”. However, then I always end up feeling uneasy about selling prints as they are essentially the same thing the client received, the only difference is that he got something made to his/her wishes. But is that enough of a distinction to warrant prints for sale (at a lower price point)? What do you think? Would love to know your thoughts on that angle as it has been bothering me for a while! 🙂
Ina, thanks for sharing your thoughts on this.
In the case of digital work, where there is no original, then you would have to come up with a way to distinguish the commissioned piece from the reproductions.
Or sell the reproductions at the same price as the first one.
Or, do what photographers do:
Many fine art photographers will sign and number and limit their photos (i.e. #1/200). The first one is said to be worth the most.
Or, don’t sell reproductions at all. You’ll have to find the answer that fits best with your work and your clients.
Absolutely agree! And I too find it so interesting that the art piece I create that I think is the best is usually the least popular and vice versa. In fact, I have had people pull things out of my reject or trash pile and convince me they were good! Ugh, the Artist is not always the best biz person but thankfully we can learn from people such as You!!
Kara,
So great to hear from you! I feel like we’ve known each other for so long now….
I love your work, please don’t ever trash any of it!! Send it to me instead! 🙂
Maria, Nice post. Thank you! I sell high quality limited edition prints of my paintings in relatively small editions, and I too have sometimes been uncomfortable selling prints of one of my patron’s paintings (even non-commissioned) because I was concerned they would feel their piece is somehow devalued. As you write, you seem to believe prints actually increase the value of the original. If true, then I can share this information with my “originals” patrons. In addition, one of my pro photographer friends who also owns a gallery had a good suggestion. She suggested when making prints, make them smaller than the original – even if only slightly smaller – so that the original format is still “special” and unique to that artwork. I think this is a good idea and once I sell out of the few prints I made the same size as the original, I am going to refrain from creating any new prints the same size as the originals.
Shelley,
Thanks for sharing your comments. I like the idea of making the reproductions in a smaller size. That’s one way to further distinguish them from the original.
A lot of my comments are repeats from Maria’s informative article and readers’ postings.
When purchasing items like a pencil, shoes, furniture, and a car, consumers believe and expect that they own those personal properties out-right. This rule works well until it gets applied to creative works, like paintings, photographs, and other art media.
To protect your business and not surprise your clients, your art commissioning agreement needs to CLEARLY state, among other things, the following:
1) (Assuming the commission work is not of a person or pet portrait.) Even though the client is ordering a commissioned art piece and may be providing the artist with general “ideas” or guidelines on the direction of the piece, the artist will solely and exclusively own the piece’s entire copyright, i.e., the client agrees that its contribution to the piece will NOT be a joint-authorship.
2) The client will own the original commissioned piece that they may display in perpetuity in a home, office, or other private, non-commercial settings (or other displayed location/s agreed to). All other rights are reserved with and belong to the artist.
3) As well, the client needs to be in the loop that the artist is reserved the right to make additional reprints and derivative works from the original commission art piece that can be sold, licensed (or even given away for free!) in perpetuity and in all media forms now or forever known.
Copyrights were mentioned in the comments: Creatives can rattle their copyright swords as much as their hearts desire, but until their copyrights are timely registered with the US Copyright Office, their copyrights are NOT fully enforceable against infringers. A painting that includes an informational inscription tag of “All Rights Reserved by the Artist” might be an interesting talking-point, but it’s very much useless until its copyright has been registered. If you enjoy having problems and headaches in your business, skip registering your copyrights.
Work-for-hire (WFH) was also mentioned in the comments: Assuming the creative is a non-employee, independent, freelance artist who runs her own business, her commissioned art piece can only be deemed a work-for-hire contribution IF the following three things all take place:
1) BEFORE beginning work on the art piece, the artist and client have agreed in writing that the artwork has been specifically commissioned; AND
2) That its copy/rights and ownership will solely belong to the client as a WFH contribution; AND
3) The art piece falls into one of nine categories:
(1) a translation (2) a contribution to a motion picture or other audiovisual work (3) a contribution to a collective work (such as a magazine) (4) as an atlas (5) as a compilation (6) as an instructional text (7) as a test (8) as answer material for a test (9) or a supplementary work (i.e., “a secondary adjunct to a work by another author” such as a foreword, afterword, chart, illustration, editorial note, bibliography, appendix and index). See http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ09.pdf and http://www.copylaw.com/new_articles/wfh.html.
If any one of the three WFH elements is missing, then the artwork canNOT be a WFH contribution. Consequently, clients will often include a copyright “transfer” clause, just in case the WFH is not valid or the artist is reluctant to agree to any WFH contractual language. Sadly, many creatives unwittingly sign-away their artworks’ IP.
Artman, thanks for taking the time to write up this lengthy recap! I appreciate it.
Dear Maria, love your creative business website, and have used some of your tips to land and complete a recent mural project, I was wondering if you can tell me how to come up with the cost of working in the square footage format, I`am not certain how you arrived at these prices. I used a $30.00 per square ft. and it worked fine for me. I would love to hear from you
Hello Maria,
I’m new to your sight but from what I’ve read you’ve been very helpful and clear with your advice. I was hoping you could do the same for me.
I’m a digital illustrator, and recently a self-publishing author had contacted me to paint her book cover. I haven’t accepted the job yet since we’re still hashing out the logistics of it all but she told me she wants to use the artwork on merchandising such as bookmarks/pens/magnets/apparel/postcards/mugs/totebags/keychains/keyrings/phonecases/notebooks/prints – essentially selling whenever a fan demands to buy it. She’d like to sell it at conventions as well. The Author has no idea how successful this book launch will be and if anyone will even want to buy merch – so it’s a gamble for her.
I’m thinking of licensing the artwork at a flat rate for a limited time, but I’m utterly stumped on how to get a number – I won’t go easy on the price just because it’s a financial risk for her but I also don’t want to scare her away.
I don’t expect you to give me a perfect answer but any advice will have me tickled pink!
Thank you!
Cheers,
Thander
Hi Thander, thanks for the question.
If this self-publishing author has never sold merchandise before, and is not backed by a large company with a healthy marketing and branding budget, they most likely will not sell very much merchandise. On the other hand, if they end up selling the book to a publisher, and they get backed by a company that knows how to merchandise for a profit, it could be lucrative. That being said, I would recommend making a short term agreement for merchandise (2 years) that is something she can afford (i.e. $500 – $1,500 flat fee for merchandising rights) with a limit in the contract that states that the license is NOT TRANSFERABLE (this way, if she is picked up by a larger entity, the license doesn’t transfer – they will have to license from you directly, at which time you can charge more). If, at the end of 2 years there has been sales, you can then renew with a royalty agreement and a larger up-front fee. Does this help?
That’s makes perfect sense, I had come to similar conclusions but I always appreciate your perspective on things!
Thank you so much Maria, you’ve been a great help!
Cheers
Thander
Stumbled onto your website and have enjoyed reading a few of your articles!
This is the business model I am striving to achieve as well. Would you say that one could be successful in doing both reproduced prints *and* custom personal paintings that wouldn’t be reproduced? Or would it be easier to focus on just one?
Scottie, thanks for the question. Yes, you can be successful doing a combo of paintings that you will reproduce, and personal commissions that you will not reproduce. Over time, you will find that it makes sense for you to put more time into creating the art that you will reproduce, as it will generate better income for you. But yes, doing both works.
Hi!
Just wanted to say thank you for bringing the subject. Research done by Dr. David R. Hawkins through clinical kinesiology, shows that a mechanical reproduction of an artwork makes the body go weak. In contrast to this, when a person looks at a handcrafted work his body goes strong; and this is true regardless of the pictorial content of the painting. There is great power in human touch and originality. Clinical kinesiology can also automatically detect forgery. Source of this info: Power vs Force, and Truth vs Falsehood, by Dr. David R. Hawkins.
Thanks for your very informative articles, they are not only informative but enligthening. As an artist this and other information is things that we should be aware of when we exhibit and sell our works.
Hi again Maria! I do large scale paintings (largest 4′ x 5′) on canvas and I’m not super knowledgeable about the digital parts like scanning, etc. that you mention doing. HOW or WHERE do I get this done?? Thanks. 🙂
Hi Amy – look for a local photographer to do your scanning (by way of photos), someone who is also a printer, they tend to do the best quality work, as they care about colors and quality. Hope that helps!
Ah but not in New Zealand! NZ has a unique Commissioning Rule where the copyright and copyright work belong to the commissioner. NZ Copyright Act 1994 sec 14 & sec 21,3(b).
If the artist wants to keep copyright he has to ask for it at the time of commissioning in writing otherwise the copyright follows commissioner.
This safeguards creators original ideas and does away with patents, trademarks, and expensive lawyers. Artist and photographers hate it.
As a commissioner of artworks I find it excellent.
Hi Maria I just came across this and love your advice. I’m hoping you can advise me. If someone wants to buy a digital copy and the license for a painting how would you price it? The painting has already been sold prior to this request.
Thanks for the question – the answer depends on many different factors! Such as – who wants to license it and for what use? What does your work already sell for? How large is the company wanting to license it? How many units do they plan to sell? The answer can range between $800 – $25,000, depending on who you are, what value your art brings to their company, etc. etc. If you want me to help you with this, please go to my “work” page on this site and follow the instructions to set up a consulting session. A 20 minute session should be enough. Thanks!
Wonderful advice! Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and experience:) You are a lovely mentor!
Maria, I am blown away every time I read your newsletter! Thank you for sharing your invaluable insight on art business with us!
Now, to show my ignorance I have a question: How do you “properly scan and create high resolution images” of your work so you can later reproduce it? Do you take it somewhere or do you have your own equipment/software?
Thanks again!
Thanks Monica! TO answer your question – to properly scan and create high res images – you would either scan your artwork using a quality scanner, or, you can hire someone to either scan it or photograph it for you. Most large cities have a photographer or someone who specializes in doing that. Check around for companies that print on canvas – they often have someone who can scan and/or photograph your art for you.
Hi Maria, I often wondered about that. Another jam packed newsletter of advice. You are amazing. The amount of knowledge and insight for the art business that you share to all of us is just amazing and I thank you so much for sharing and helping everyone. The best part is you take the time to actually respond to anyone’s questions as well. You are incredible. Thank you. x
For most times when doing a commission, it could be reasonably expected that it is done under a work for hire. I have previously had issues with artists where they were being hired by a company, only for them to “retain ownership”. The only way to resolve the dispute was to immediately fire them on the spot, destroy all of the artists work, and hire others that could understand that what they created was owned by the company, and redo everything from scratch.
What I want to say is this. Artists-> Assume every commission that the commissioner wants the ownership rights. If you normally charge $5 an hour, quote them $20, or $50, or $5000 an hour, explain that they will have full ownership, and give them your normal rate, and explain that for the lower rate, that you as an artist will retain ownership. OR even allow them the option to pay the lower rate, and buy the copyright from you for $$$$ within xx days. Come on. Imaging getting paid $5k for a painting, then another $20k for the “rights”, especially if its something that maybe noone else wants.
One issue to keep in mind is that if I take a photo, I own the rights to that photo. If I hire an artist to create something based on that photo, I am granting them permission to only make 1 copy. If they then duplicate their art, they are in fact in breach of copyright as they do not have permission to make any more copies that were derivatives of the photograph. In this situation, noone wins. If doing a commission based from a photo either the artist needs to buy or license rights to use the photo, OR they should try to sell rights of the painting and profit from that. I would say that in every copyright dispute, its the artists failure for not charging correctly, and for not making it clear that rights are, or are not included.
I agree completely with you Maria! I’m only starting in getting my artwork ‘out there’ and I always have any artwork I’ve finished properly scanned for future possible use as a reproduction. This is an expensive outlay but so worth doing right. Letting a client know from the beginning that the copyright remains with the artist is essential and if they aren’t happy out it, they’ll let you know…and I’m pretty sure too that if you then point out how they would be the only one to own the original and that it would add value to it, they’ll more than likely to be OK about it…just as you’ve said about one of your clients. Thanks again Maria for your informative and helpful advice 🙂
I’m a printmaker, a medium known for an abundance of structure around the value of original prints. These rules have made it so difficult for printmakers to actually make a living with their art. Not only do I create an edition for a commission, I also offer giclees once an edition is sold out. I’m up front with my collectors and clear on my website about how I sell and produce my art.
Thank you Maria. This has been a lingering question for me – your explanation and experience in this is extremely helpful. I rarely comment on articles or blogs however wanted you to know how much I am enjoying your book Art, Money Success. So much valuable information and you YouTube videos rock as well.. thank you thank you! 🙂 Suzette.
Hi there! This is all great knowledge and I’m happy to have found this.
I was commissioned by a small company at the end of last year and all they wanted was a digital version of a watercolor piece that was a re-imagining of the Rosie the Riveter We Can Do It illustration that they would use for marketing and promotional uses.
It was my first commission so I naively did not make a contract but agreed to their uses. Their budget was also very low and since they only wanted it for those purposes, I thought it’d be great for me as I could create prints of the image once done.
When I made a comment on social media almost announcing this (more as a question, not a declaration), they were very upset and of course, it was a huge surprise to them. They messaged me privately asking for clarification that they owned the full rights of the image. I told them they did not, they only can use it for marketing and promotional use.
Mind you, they didn’t even want to purchase the original.
There was a huge back and forth and I even had to reach out to a lawyer to make sure I was in the right. The company actually tried to bully me into giving them full rights without even offering more to compensate for the buyout.
I gave them several options that allowed them to use it for the intended stated uses and they countered saying they actually intended to use make cards to sell as well. I was so upset by this! I gave them another option where they have exclusive use for an additional fee since their budget was super low but they never responded. They finally settled on having them continue with their current license and I continue to have full rights.
TLDR. MAKE A CONTRACT. DONT GET EFF’D.
This was a weird one because it was a commission for a company, not a personal commission. The illustration itself is something that would do well for me and my sales and I just felt so taken advantage of with the low budget and them wanting full rights when 1. they didn’t want the original painting and 2. only saying they wanted to use it for marketing then come back saying they wanted to sell cards.
I’m happy to have experienced this earlier rather than later and hopefully more people can learn from Drew and everyone else’s experience.
I was wondering about first prints and then reprints. I know some people limit the amount of prints they make such as 1 of 100, but I was wondering if a piece is really popular and you find you want to make more prints, how do you classify that print since it’s not long 1 of some amount. I rarely sell my originals because the medium I use is somewhat fragile so I mostly sell prints of my work. I’ve only sold a handful of originals at this point and way too inexpensive as I didn’t have any confidence in my ability. I have always wanted to license but still can’t get the hang of that method so I just use my prints to make other items such as jewelry, coasters, bottle decor, etc. I agree with the artist owning the copyright to the piece. I also feel better knowing that you feel the same way. That validates my selling practices. Thanks….great article!
I just noticed a typo in my comment. Suppose to say no longer (instead of not long). So sorry!
Thank you for this article.
I was wondering if you could share your process for capturing images of the paintings? They look great!
Every single person I asked said that it would be okay, and most expressed pride at owning the original piece of art.
I know that the artist reserves the copyrights and has the right to reproduce the work and sell prints. I make sure anyone who commissions work is aware of this. I paint people mostly, however, some portraits, but the paintings I would like to reproduce are illustrations similar to what Norman Rockwell did. The pictures so far are of people I know. I was not too concerned about its being too personal. How does one know what might bother someone? If you ask if you can use it, they may be more likely to say no. Obviously, it would be the polite thing to do, I can see that. Sometimes I work from photos that a family member has snapped of other family members. Usually they are old photos of my children when they were younger and unrecognizable to even people who know them now. Hopefully my poor family is not bothered by that. Thoughts, suggestions?
As a collector of high-end artwork ($3K+), I would be quite upset to see that an artist had sold prints of a work I own without having received my *explicit* consent at the time of purchase (i.e., putting it in fine print isn’t sufficient). Indeed, for the type of work I purchase, paying what I do, I think there is an implicit accord at the time of sale that reproductions of the work will not be sold–as I might be unwilling to pay the same price with that understanding. Obviously, I realize that the artists I buy from retain the copyrights to their works (such that they are legally entitled to sell prints), but whether they should do so is a question of ethics and professionalism particular to each case. Personally, I would not pay $10K for a painting that I might later see in my hotel room.
I also take issue with your blanket assertion that selling prints of an original work will increase the value of the original. You have offered no support for that claim and I find it counter-intuitive at best; it’s certainly not true in every case. As a serious and avid collector, I stand behind the artists I support 100%. Many of them I consider close friends; I have negatory interest in hindering their careers for selfish reasons. And yet, I would recommend to most of them that they not sell prints of their work–including works that were *not* commissioned–unless the buyer explicitly consents to that arrangement (preferably at the time of sale). #mytwocents
Hey Maggie, I appreciate your perspective. However, you don’t care about the artists you claim to support. You are only thinking of yourself while your “artist friends” are starving so that they don’t “offend” you by making money off of their own art. Yes, you hinder their ability to make money from their art with your elitist attitude.
When you buy a $3,000 painting and require the artist to give up all future earning potential, just to keep YOU from throwing a fit, that artist just lost potentially another $500,000 in lifetime income from that art. So selling to you is harming them, but hey, it keeps you happy. What a princess you are.
I would never let someone tell me how to run my art business. That’s why I’ve had so much success. Collectors that dictate how an artist runs their business are ELITISTS and the art world has no place for that.
And this blog has no place for elitists, either. I don’t know why you would even land here.
Wow I just discovered this place and I’m so glad that I did! I also subscribed to your YouTube channel. I was commissioned to paint a mural on a vending machine for someone’s vending machine business (only 3 machines, they dispense hand made, local art items like crafts, zines, stickers, patches, pins etc.) They placed the machines at an airport and coffee shops. I painted a mural on the side but also painted their logo over it on the center of the art as was asked. We were both starting at the time so there was no discussion about copyrights. I was recently asked who has the copyright for the art on the machine because they want to sell stickers and other merch with the art of the machine on it. Since their logo is slapped on the center of the art I’m not sure who has the copyright for it. Any help is greatly appreciated!