Artist selling drawings of my house

[TechGinny]

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?

Really understand how you feel, we had a tradesman do some willow
work in our garden ,to my horror when in a dodgy local tourist cafe
on every table there was a flier he had had printed ,on the front our house and garden ,with his willow fencing made to our design
cheeky bugger ,needless to say when people have asked who had done the work ,we are now honestly able to say he was a poor tradesmen the whole thing is rotting and the supporting poles where
not properly fitted.
He bodged the whole job.it was so expensive .
Wonder how he would feel if we posted photos around locally of the rotten mess he's
left us with after only three short years instead of the promised 10 plus
anyone know if it was legal to use or place for his advert

OP, you haven't posted this just to let us all know that you live in a distinctive house of significant local interest that has been in your family for over a hundred years, have you?

Because I really don't see what the problem is here. Do let us know how the artist got to draw it if you ask her about it, we're curious.

You can't just send a flying camera wherever you like and snap whatever you like!

Yes you can, though not within a couple of miles of airports, military bases and other high-security installations. And you know what? Your house can be seen by satellites, too. That's how Google Earth works.

@Northernlurker

I can't believe you are going to email this poor woman. How petty. Get over yourself. You own what is clearly a decent house and you didn't pay a penny for it as you mention inheritance. And yet you can't extend anybody even the minimal of goodwill. She's painted a picture not stolen your guttering,

Northernlurker

"She's painted a picture not stolen your guttering"

🤣🤣🤣

You think that’s bad.. I once had a coach pull up outside of my house and a load of Chinese tourists got out and started taking photos of my home. I was ironing at the time and nearly ironed my own arm in shock. I later found out that rich Chinese tourists were being ripped off and being told our houses were from films. I only live in a typical Victorian townhouse. I thought it was funny. I still wonder if there are Chinese people being bored to tears with holiday photos of my house.

The Right to Roam is different in Scotland from England and Wales, but have said this still allows you private garden space in Scotland.

From other posts, the OP lives in Wales.

@Usernamerequired

Ask for a cut of the profits

Yeah do that, it'll give the artist and all her mates a laugh!

Drone
Long lense camera

Who remembers the days, when salesmen knocked on the door to sell an aerial photo of your property in a frame. Where the photos were taken from an aeroplane.

@TechGinny

Just in case people are curious, it's this style of drawing, but obviously of my house and without the wording!

I wouldn't pay £40 for that either

It must be very distressing to know that the plebs have lain their eyes upon your lovely
house.

I’d hate to be sitting in the living room and notice some random in my garden taking photos of my house. If they were taken from the street, I couldn’t do anything but from my own garden? Nope.

Blimey, such a lot of reverse snobbery and resentment of someone for living in an attractive house!

Of course OP should be entirely happy with the possibility that someone has come onto her property and either photographed her house or sat there to paint or sketch it, and is now selling the paintings, without contacting her to ask permission or to explain how they got the image. As someone who inherited a house of historic interest, she should just be aware of her good luck, and happy for anyone to make money this way. ???

Did they reply to your email?

I'd be uncomfortable about it too. Just because you have a house with a lot of land doesn't make it acceptable to go on that land.
If you lived in a three bed semi and someone had drawn a picture of your back garden of a view only accessible from
Your back garden, there'd be an outrage and prob suggestions to call police!

Triangle when we bought our house we asked the owners to include the aerial photo from those days - which is still in my hall way. It is interesting seeing how much the trees have grown in nearly 25 years.

Anyway might be worth an attempt to stop it even if it is probably difficult whereas were the house stuck on a product being sold it might imply endorsement by the house owners of that product which might give you a bit more legal leaway.

..leeway....

@Loudestcat14

I'm surprised PP are being so blasé about this. She's monetised your private property for her own financial gain and her website might prompt people to want to view it in person, increasing the likelihood of trespassers. I wouldn't be happy about that. It doesn't matter if it's a notable house in the area, it's your family home.

On a side note, is the artwork any good?

Monetised your private property 😂 Behave. She painted a house. People do it all the time. And there is nothing to say the painting has a ‘you are here’ sign and a map to the OPs house 😂

The feeling I get is it’s the invasion of privacy more than anything IF the person did go onto the property. How would you feel if you were walking around the house on a day where you didn’t feel like wearing clothes and unbeknownst to you someone was outside the house observing you? It wouldn’t be a nice feeling would it?!

Trespassing is not a criminal offence for one, the tools at hand for you even if you had found them there is asking them to leave, that’s it unless the refuse or cause a crime but just being there is not a crime

I’m afraid if I were to spot a drone hovering low enough to photograph my house and garden I’d be shining a laser pointer at its camera.

Whoever mentioned suing them is off there nut, I know my qualifications are in business law but I know enough to know that this would be dead in the water, suing for trespass is for things like damage, squatters, repeat offences etc

Someone wandering onto your lane and asking a photograph is just that

@DDMAC

The feeling I get is it’s the invasion of privacy more than anything IF the person did go onto the property. How would you feel if you were walking around the house on a day where you didn’t feel like wearing clothes and unbeknownst to you someone was outside the house observing you? It wouldn’t be a nice feeling would it?!

Face it, if you choose to be naked in front of the windows at the front of the house that's a risk you take. Lots of people can quite legitimately come up your front path, e.g. postmen, couriers etc, and may well catch an unwelcome eyeful. However, the chances that someone will set up their easel while the house is occupied without the houseowner noticing are minimal.

@Backwaterjunction

Whoever mentioned suing them is off there nut, I know my qualifications are in business law but I know enough to know that this would be dead in the water, suing for trespass is for things like damage, squatters, repeat offences etc

Someone wandering onto your lane and asking a photograph is just that

@Backwaterjunction I agree with you. The only (theoretical) possibility I can think of is that the OP could say that had she been asked by the artist for permission onto her land for the purpose of making and selling artworks of the house that the OP would have given permission on the condition that the artist paid her a fee and/or a percentage of the profits; and that she had been deprived by such as a result of the artist's trespass. The OP would have to prove that the artist had trespassed. The likely value of any such claim would be low too, unless Banksy has branched out into paintings of houses instead of painting on houses. Actually I'm beginning to wonder if the opening post is actually someone's law homework?

@Libraryghost

You think that’s bad.. I once had a coach pull up outside of my house and a load of Chinese tourists got out and started taking photos of my home. I was ironing at the time and nearly ironed my own arm in shock. I later found out that rich Chinese tourists were being ripped off and being told our houses were from films. I only live in a typical Victorian townhouse. I thought it was funny. I still wonder if there are Chinese people being bored to tears with holiday photos of my house.

This is amazing

@Backwaterjunction - clearly you know your stuff, about the law surrounding trespass - but even if it isn't illegal, or is hard to prove in a court of law, I still don't think that @TechGinny is unreasonable in feeling uncomfortable about someone coming onto her private property to take photos.

I don't get the sense that she is looking for her day in court, or some major retribution to fall on the artist, (if they did trespass to get the picture) - just an acknowledgement that that was out of order, and an apology.