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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

WIBU to print an artist's work at home?

296 replies

zatarontoast · 02/10/2020 11:49

Asking as I really don't know if this is appropriate or not. I follow an artist on Instagram who does oil paintings and I really wanted one so enquired about the price. At £500 for a small size it is way beyond my budget or what I could justify in spending. But... I still want one. She doesn't do prints, so I was thinking I could print one off at home for my own use. I don't know much about these things so don't know if this is considering stealing or is just a no-no in general? My rationale is that she isn't losing by me doing this as I wasn't going to buy it anyway.

OP posts:
DustyMaiden · 02/10/2020 13:45

Ask the artist if they would mind it can supply a print.

Thelnebriati · 02/10/2020 13:46

At least offer to buy a print from the artist. They can use an online printing service.

lovingllamaa · 02/10/2020 13:46

Why don’t you ask for her permission to print a copy? If yes, then great. If she says no then you haven’t lost anything. She might not even mind.

Nikori · 02/10/2020 13:46

@DustyMaiden

Ask the artist if they would mind it can supply a print.
See, now why didn't you think of that, OP? Wink
SantaClaritaDiet · 02/10/2020 13:48

@GlummyMcGlummerson

See, it's situations like these where I think I wouldn't ask MN I'd just do it, and IRL everyone would say "yeah just do it", only on MN is this akin to theft 😂
to be fair, there might be a few artists on this thread, and they don't like it one bit in real life either. It IS a pain in the ass, but on the plus side, you have a much wider audience to purchase your art, so ultimately you are winning.
Notarealmum · 02/10/2020 13:49

If you’re not reproducing the image for commercial reasons I see no moral problem in doing it. One way of looking at it is you’re helping to promote the artist - someone sees it on your wall, likes it - maybe even buys a painting. You may well find, though, that the resolution is too low to produce a decent image anyway.

MontenotteandStLukes · 02/10/2020 13:49

Hang on, I thought you were talking about prints -- you want to print off an online photo of an oil painting on a domestic printer? What do you imagine it's going to look like, quite apart from all the points already raised?

Original poster
zatarontoast · 02/10/2020 14:00

Sorry, just realized it's watercolour, not oil painting. Not that that makes the situation any different (although resolution might be better!)

OP posts:
BrazenlyDefying · 02/10/2020 14:01

@Meuniere

It's not counterfeit! Counterfeits are done to try and trick people into thinking its the real thing. At the very least they aim at looking like the real thing.

You are talking about doing a print (from your own printer I assume?) of an oil painting! The resolution won't be great. It's fine.

I don't really agree with this. When you buy a "louis vuitton" handbag or a "gucci" t-shirt from a stall in Portugal for 5 euros, you most certainly know it's not the real thing. If you've seen enough of them, you can tell in about 5 seconds they're not the real thing.

I just don't get why people want a second-rate version of the real thing. OP can't afford an individual piece of art, so wants to print a cheap copy off the web and thinks that's in any way comparable? It's really not.

Copyright generally expires 70 years after the death of the creator, so there's no issue with printing off Old Masters for art homework.

SirGawain · 02/10/2020 14:04

I collect high quality artists prints and I also value the artists skill in making the image and would never feel happy if I had not acquired them legitimately. There is a particular print I would like but at £1000 I can’t really justify it so I will have to forget it. I would not dream of printing from a photograph, which would be of very poor quality anyway.

malmi · 02/10/2020 14:04

It's a bit silly really - if the artist has published her work on the internet for everyone to view, then I think people should be able to print a copy for their own personal enjoyment. They're not stealing an original oil painting by doing so. The artist still has the original, they've not been deprived of anything.

To think about it another way, if you're allowed to look at it on your computer or your phone, then why not put a tablet PC on the windowsill set to permanently display the photo directly on the website the artist has published it? You get the same result but somehow don't break copyright law.

SirGawain · 02/10/2020 14:11

[quote zatarontoast]@TheInebriati what is the difference between me printing off a picture from the Internet of a desert for dd's homework and me printing off the same pic to display in my house? I'm not being goady, genuinely trying to see the difference. I could say both are educational.[/quote]
It you cannot see the moral difference between a small print for a student project and printing something owned by someone else to display for your pleasure then there is little point in trying to explain.

Genderwitched · 02/10/2020 14:12

I'm an artist, I paint landscapes in oil and I've got an instagram account. Anything printed from there would not bother me at all.

It would look like a bad quality print, but if it gave the person who couldn't afford the original a bit of pleasure to look at, then that would be fine by me. Everybody saves things that they see on the internet for their own pleasure or reference.

It's only when they start selling them, or making money out of them that it becomes illegal and morally wrong. To be honest, if an artist allows their work to be downloaded from the internet at decent enough quality to make a good print from then that it their own fault if someone takes it.

NoSleepInTheHeat · 02/10/2020 14:13

If the sole use will be for you to look at it, the same way as you are able to look at it on your computer I'll do it.
Using it in any other way is where I draw my moral line (putting it on Christmas cards or a website for ex).

SirGawain · 02/10/2020 14:15

@malmi

It's a bit silly really - if the artist has published her work on the internet for everyone to view, then I think people should be able to print a copy for their own personal enjoyment. They're not stealing an original oil painting by doing so. The artist still has the original, they've not been deprived of anything.

To think about it another way, if you're allowed to look at it on your computer or your phone, then why not put a tablet PC on the windowsill set to permanently display the photo directly on the website the artist has published it? You get the same result but somehow don't break copyright law.

In the case of viewing on you computer the artist still controls access to the image. If you buy the picture you acquire the right to displaying it. You do not acquire other rights the would enable you to reproduce it and sell the copies.
SantaClaritaDiet · 02/10/2020 14:19

I just don't get why people want a second-rate version of the real thing. OP

why do people pay for poster version of paintings?

Original poster
zatarontoast · 02/10/2020 14:22

@SirGawain the principle is exactly the same, so I was trying to understand why one is OK and the other isn't. The painting that I'm talking about features an iconic religious building, so it contains educational value, it isn't just a nice picture to look at.

OP posts:
Original poster
zatarontoast · 02/10/2020 14:24

But yes SirGawain I will just have to accept that I cannot afford an original and move on.

OP posts:
Original poster
zatarontoast · 02/10/2020 14:27

@SantaClaritaDiet honestly I don't care if it's the 'real thing' or not. I want it because of the symbolism and the colours are really nice, the exclusivity of it is of no value to me at all.

OP posts:
blackice · 02/10/2020 14:28

Do you also shoplift?

Original poster
zatarontoast · 02/10/2020 14:32

No I don't blackice, and I said upthread that now I know its stealing that I won't do it. I'm genuinely fascinated about the things that I've unknowingly 'stolen' from the Internet though and why more attention isn't brought to this. A pp mentioned tattoos, surely the tattoo artist could be liable for theft if he/she replicates a painting/image from online?

OP posts:
SantaClaritaDiet · 02/10/2020 14:33

zatarontoast
most people do! There's nothing wrong there!

MaskingForIt · 02/10/2020 14:36

At £500 for a small size it is way beyond my budget or what I could justify in spending. But... I still want one.

And therein lies the problem with the world today.
Get a loan or put it on a credit card, like everyone else seems to nowadays.

Genderwitched · 02/10/2020 14:37

@zatarontoast

Ignore the ridiculous posters on this thread, print out your low quality print on printer paper that is harming no one, enjoy it, and turn off Mumsnet Smile

MrsVeryTired · 02/10/2020 14:39

I think I'd ask if she would do a print. Another option is to look for a similar artist that does do prints (even ask the artist for a recommendation). Do you have any arty friends/friends children (teenagers)? Ask them to do their own interpretation of the painting and pay them (a much smaller amount) for it?

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