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AIBU?

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Original poster

Artist selling drawings of my house

529 replies

TechGinny · 07/09/2021 12:43

I've just discovered that an artist local to the area is selling drawings of my property on her website. It's not easily viewed by the road, which means she would have had to enter the land to draw it.

I'm feeling quite annoyed about this, as she has never made contact to ask permission.

AIBU unreasonable to feel like this, and would you make contact to ask her to remove it from her website?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
7
Jemand · 07/09/2021 23:44

You're imagining, assuming and guessing that it's a piece of art that would take hours to complete without having seen it. It's not

So why couldn't it have been done from a photo?

Issues around right to roam are irrelevant given the implied licence to allow people like postmen, parcel and grocery deliverers, leaflet-droppers, canvassers, electricians, plumbers, census takers etc etc to come on to your land. Any of them cold have taken a quick photo and subsequntly used it as the basis for a painting.

SirVixofVixHall · 07/09/2021 23:47

@TechGinny

The house is definitely mine, it's named as well as being very distinctive. I'm not sure about right to roam where the house is, but it's very obvious that you're entering private land, and there isn't any public land around it that would mean someone might think it's ok to walk through. It's also on a rural road with national speed limit and no pavement, so it's not a place you can wander past and stop to have a gander - you either drive past at speed or park up deliberately.

I'm going to send a friendly email to her and see if she used a photo... I'll report back if I get a response. I'm far less disgruntled about this than I was earlier, but I do still feel it's off.

OP this makes it sound as though you don’t live there, as you don’t know if there is a public right of way- is it rented, or not your main residence? If so perhaps she knew friends renting it and visited, or it is known locally that it is often empty so she wandered in, this is more concerning if it is the case. Can you day what country it is in, is it in Scotland ?
SusieBob · 07/09/2021 23:51

@Skysblue

Two issues here.
  1. The legal stuff. If she is selling a picture of your property then I think she needs a property release form (like a model release form). Send angry legal letter saying no release has been given and the sales are unlawful etc.
  1. Her local reputation. Phone her if possible and pressure her to remove the pictures and stop selling them, saying you will take legal action for trespass if not. It’s possible she didn’t think you’d care / find out but will stop if asked to.
Let me guess... you are not a lawyer, are you?

Model release form for a property. FFS.

Original poster
TechGinny · 08/09/2021 00:22

@Jemand

You're imagining, assuming and guessing that it's a piece of art that would take hours to complete without having seen it. It's not

So why couldn't it have been done from a photo?

Issues around right to roam are irrelevant given the implied licence to allow people like postmen, parcel and grocery deliverers, leaflet-droppers, canvassers, electricians, plumbers, census takers etc etc to come on to your land. Any of them cold have taken a quick photo and subsequntly used it as the basis for a painting.

I haven't said it couldn't be done from a photo... where have you got that from? And the person who has done the painting is an artist, not a worker who has come on to the property for a genuine reason and happened to take a quick snap on their phone.
OP posts:
Original poster
TechGinny · 08/09/2021 00:26

No, @SirVixofVixHall, I said I don't know what the right to roam laws are. There isn't a public right of way through the property or surrounding land, I know that for a fact. I'd prefer not to say which country it's in, but I'm in the UK.

OP posts:
SirVixofVixHall · 08/09/2021 00:47

The Right to Roam is different in Scotland from England and Wales, but have said this still allows you private garden space in Scotland.
I don’t think we can guess who you are from an entire country OP, but if you think it might be more outing them maybe people can advise on the rules for different areas.
In England and Wales you can roam on open land, but not through gardens or farmland other than on public rights of way. I am not sure how this differs from Scotland , i thought that there were greater rights of access there, but it sounds very similar from the previous comments.

Your land does not sound like open access land, it sounds more like a garden ? If it is open moorland etc then anyone can roam on it. If you have adjacent farm land she may have asked the farmer if she could sit and draw.
I think the most likely thing is that she has found an old photograph or engraving, but she may have just cheekily wondered in !

BlackShadowCat · 08/09/2021 06:08

Hopefully, the artist will have a good answer for you and it will make you feel better.

To me, it seems unlikely she snuck into your garden and sat there with all her materials sketching without permission, especially as you say it seems she is quite a prolific local artist who has sketched many local buildings.

It seems more likely that she knocked and the previous owner (your family member) said it was fine or she couldn't get access so used an old photograph she acquired.

But, hopefully you will get an answer so you can know for sure.

uggmum · 08/09/2021 08:51

This is such a non issue that has been blown out of proportion.

There is no evidence that the Artist has been near the house. If it is as notable as the OP suggests then there will be pictures of it somewhere. She could have easily copied it from an old picture.

The OP may own the house but no one owns an image of a random house.

ManifestDestinee · 08/09/2021 09:03

@jakeyboy1

I work in property. It is trespass. If you don't want people to photograph your house without permission you can follow it up legally, won't necessarily get you anywhere but may stop them doing it again. We get people photographing properties all the time that are private, if we choose to allow them to we do so for commercial income. We also have security to stop people which obviously isn't practical at home. For those who cant see why this is a problem how would you feel? Whilst it is probably innocent it does bring elements of risk with it that should be addressed.
People can photograph any property they like from a public spot, you canot choose to allow them, its not your business, and you can';t charge them.
ManifestDestinee · 08/09/2021 09:06

@Skysblue

Two issues here.
  1. The legal stuff. If she is selling a picture of your property then I think she needs a property release form (like a model release form). Send angry legal letter saying no release has been given and the sales are unlawful etc.
  1. Her local reputation. Phone her if possible and pressure her to remove the pictures and stop selling them, saying you will take legal action for trespass if not. It’s possible she didn’t think you’d care / find out but will stop if asked to.
  • She does not need a property release form (that's not even a thing). Sales are in no way unlawful and an angry legal letter is pointless.
    1. Legal action for trespass would start with proof of trespass, of which there is none. Calling her and pressuring her to stop doing what she is legally free to do would be harrassment.

    You need to stop giving advice you don't understand.

    monsterflake · 08/09/2021 09:09

    I have anxiety and PTSD so I don't think YABU to feel weird about a stranger on your property. Your home is your safe place.

    Could it be possible she found a photo on Google earth? Especially if it as a particularly beautiful or historic house there might be photos on the Internet somewhere? If it really bothers you maybe contact the artist and find out how she came to draw it, if you think it would put your mind at ease.

    Usernamerequired · 08/09/2021 17:40

    Ask for a cut of the profits

    Droite · 08/09/2021 17:42

    And the person who has done the painting is an artist, not a worker who has come on to the property for a genuine reason and happened to take a quick snap on their phone.

    She could be both, she could have seen a photo someone else took or, more likely, she could be working from an old photo that is in public ownership, e.g. for the purposes of listing.

    Droite · 08/09/2021 17:45

    @jakeyboy1

    I work in property. It is trespass. If you don't want people to photograph your house without permission you can follow it up legally, won't necessarily get you anywhere but may stop them doing it again. We get people photographing properties all the time that are private, if we choose to allow them to we do so for commercial income. We also have security to stop people which obviously isn't practical at home. For those who cant see why this is a problem how would you feel? Whilst it is probably innocent it does bring elements of risk with it that should be addressed.
    People are constantly photographing and filming other people's houses without permission, it would be totally impractical to impose that as a legal requirement. Every time you go on holiday and, say, take a picture of the picturesque main street you are doing that. Google earth does it also. I don't believe that any property agency is able to prevent it.
    Tzimi · 08/09/2021 17:54

    Do you know her? Maybe you should have a word?

    CovidCorvid · 08/09/2021 17:56

    Maybe she works part time as a Royal Mail person or hermes delivery driver and has walked up your drive for a genuine reason at some point and taken a photo or even painted it from memory.

    bobblebeebob · 08/09/2021 17:58

    In would definitely send a friendly message of enquiry and depending how nice she is, id buy the picture

    Lolabray · 08/09/2021 18:03

    Surely this is a compliment ?

    yossell · 08/09/2021 18:05

    This is interesting
    www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/technique/expert_advice/street-photography-and-the-law-96304

    It seems as though it is legal to photograph other people's properties -- though there are some privacy considerations. It does also recommend getting a model release form if you intend to profit from your work. I don't know whether this would apply to pictures of photographs or just the photographs themselves.

    montysma1 · 08/09/2021 18:06

    if somebody popped I to my garden and drew a picture I would be well chuffed. I would buy one.
    This is such an up your own arse non problem.

    ladymalfoy · 08/09/2021 18:16

    Notable family? Like the Mosley’s? Photos in the local pub of their gaff.

    mum11970 · 08/09/2021 18:16

    Complete fuss about nothing. It’s a picture of your house for God’s sake. Do you expect a no fly zone over your house too?

    Beastieboys · 08/09/2021 18:21

    I live in an old house right on the road side with area steps and railings and it is really irritating when people hang over the railings to photograph down into the celler or up into the sitting room. Or use the steps as a bench leaving their rubbish or even worse not moving so that you can get In or out!

    pollymere · 08/09/2021 18:25

    I think you need to add something that points out as the owner you haven't given permission for them to sell pics of your house either.

    Shedbuilder · 08/09/2021 18:36

    What will you say to her, OP, when she turns out to have delivered parcels to your home, or it turns out that her dad was doing some work on your house a few years ago and she took a photo when she came to drop off the tools he'd left at home by accident, or that she once ran one of your children home from pony club and didn't stop to say hello but admired the place, or her mother was on a church committee with your grandmother and used to call at the house regularly and took photos — or a hundred other ways she might legitimately have come up your (doubtless) stately driveway and seen your house? Or possibly more likely still, found pictures of it in Notable House of Herefordshire (or wherever) and thought it would make a nice picture —which it clearly has if it's selling.

    You've assumed that you live in some kind of protective bubble that no one has the right to penetrate. I'm sure during the average year dozens of people legally access your land, many of them without you being aware of it. Just like the rest of us.