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Rock Art News Summer 2006
 

It’s been a hot, dry summer in the Ozarks, so the rains that have come in the past few weeks were most welcome, and I hope that my next trip to the river will find some new art materials have washed in. I ran through a lot of rocks this summer giving free painting classes at libraries in Arkansas and Oklahoma. I handed out dozens of happy little cat and dog rocks that I put together with a dollop of Liquid Nails, adding on suggested designs with a paint marker. It was such fun to have an array of ready-to-paint rocks to offer and watch them being chosen to turn into art. Hopefully a lot of ‘creativity seeds’ were planted and will take root in the next few years.

Work is well underway on my next book, this one tentatively titled “Easy Garden Art” and subtitled “Painted on Natural Rock and Manufactured Stone”. The book will include instructions for the Koi Pond that appears as a ‘more ideas’ rock in Painting Pets on Rocks, along with a larger-than-life iguana, fanciful stepping stones, borders and flower beds, tortoises, planters and more. With the materials widely available through garden centers and home improvement stores, people who live in areas where rocks are scarce will be able to enjoy painting in three dimensions as much as those who live where rocks are abundant. The book features ideas for decorating your yard, patio, entryway, courtyard and deck with garden art that is both decorative, useful and long-lasting.

I’m very happy and grateful to be able to announce that my first self-published book, Rock Painting Fun for Everyone! went back to press in mid-July. Thanks to all who have supported the efforts of fledgling ArtStone Press!

Often as I surf the Internet, I come across the websites of fellow rock painters. Some of the work I see was clearly inspired by my books and many sites mention that fact, which I appreciate. I have never limited the use of my projects and patterns. It is my hope that anyone who is willing to work at it can develop markets for their rock art and create their own success story. There are simply too many wonderful rocks in the world for just one person to paint them all, and it’s so gratifying when I get mail from rock painters telling me of their first sales, their painting commissions or to share the news of placing their work in galleries or gift shops. It is thrilling to know that so many people have been inspired by my books. As a teacher, it is also wonderful to see students who have gone on to equal or surpass me in ability. 

I encourage every rock painter to continue to refine their techniques, to grow as artists and develop their own unique ways of expressing themselves through rock painting. But I have also noted that there is some confusion as to what is allowed as far as copying and what is not, and I hope I can shed some light on this for anyone who has wondered about it. 

When my books were accepted for publication, I was required to sign a contract stating that what I had submitted to them was my own original material, and that it had never been published elsewhere. They paid me for the right to print, distribute and sell the material, but I still own the copyrights, so they have, in effect, leased the use of it for as long as they wish to publish it. This means that the stepped-out instructions, the stylized patterns, and the words and phrases used to describe the process are all copyrighted. It is not acceptable to reproduce that material in any way without the permission of the publisher. Even if you take your own pictures of your own rocks as you are painting them, it would not be proper to publish them either in print or on the internet, even for free, if they are based on the instructions in my books because this amounts to giving away something that is simply not yours to give.

Similarly, there is much confusion about what constitutes an ‘original’ design. Even through I base much of my work on nature, I create stylized patterns, simplifying and modifying the subjects in order to make them fit onto common rock shapes as well as making them easier for others to paint. Taking a published project and making minor changes to it does not automatically render it a ‘new’ or ‘original’ design, as some may think. One analogy would be that if you took Disney’s well known mouse, changed the color to gray, maybe made the ears a bit smaller or larger, and called him “Nicky”, your design could still be considered infringement of the Disney copyright if anyone familiar with the original could see at a glance that your design was based on Mickey Mouse. This does not mean no one else can paint a mouse, only that to be original, your mouse must have clear and obvious design differences. In other words, changing a base coat from, say, black to dark brown and giving it arbitrary white areas would not necessarily render it an original design if most of the other elements remained the same.

There are many ways to approach any subject matter, but it does take imagination, talent and quite a bit of effort to come up with something new.  There are also many ways to write instructions and put together how-to books, but again, it requires that the author be able to find a unique and original approach and find a fresh way of describing the process that would makes the work stand alone rather than simply being a rehash of what someone else has already done. 

If anyone has questions about any of these issues, please feel free to contact me.

Thanks to all who have sent notes of encouragement or to share news of their success with their art. A special thanks to those who take the time to share the gift of art with others; this world needs all the imagination and creativity it can get!

Keep Rockin’
Lin
 

www.linwellford.com
www.ArtStonePress.com

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