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Stolen painting |
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My painting opposite, 'Rose Garland' has recently been stolen from one of my patrons. Naturally we would like to see it returned and in good condition. If you have any information regarding it's whereabouts then please contact me and I will in turn contact the owner and pass on the details. We would greatly appreciate any help offered. |
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Oil on canvas 20 ins. X 16 ins. Click on the painting to enlarge |
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eBay |
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A strange thing occurred during a recent visit to my picture framer. Aideen (my framer) generally likes to show me what else is in for mounting - usually a mixed bag of paintings from all over Dublin. On this day she was very keen to show me one particular painting belonging to a client. She felt sure I'd find it interesting as it seemed similar to the type of work that I had done over the years. It certainly was interesting - in fact it was a pretty good copy of a painting I had done several years ago which had been shown on this website. I soon discovered that her client had acquired this copy on eBay for the grand sum of €40. No chance of it being local then (you can barely buy lunch in Dublin for €40) My first thought was China and this indeed proved to be the case. A search of eBay eventually uncovered the same painting up for sale again - the one millionth copy no doubt. Here's a coincidence worthy of any surrealist - what are the odds of a Chinese copy of one of my paintings finding it's way across the world, only to finish up in my picture framers workshop with me looking at it like some kind of prodigal son returned? Surely I'd have a better chance of winning the Lotto! beautiful-venus (eBay username) has his own little auction / shop on eBay which is full of copies and naturally I was flattered to be included in such esteemed company as William Bouguereau (starting bid $4.99) It seems the concept of Intellectual Property Rights doesn't really exist in some parts China and trying to stop these copyists & counterfeiters flooding the world with their wares is almost impossible, particularly when there's such a ready market. As an artist I have no real problem with an amateur or student copying my paintings for their own amusement or pleasure. It's when copies start to crossover into my world that I become concerned. What if the guy who bought the eBay knockout decided to sell it on here in Dublin - maybe in an auction house or gallery? What do I say to my clients? It was with this in mind and my obsessive and mischievous nature that I decided to follow this up. First stop - eBay. eBay has many web-pages devoted to intellectual property rights. They have a whole programme devoted to it - Verified Rights Owner or VeRO. They say "As part of our mission, we are committed to help protecting the intellectual property rights of rights owners and to providing our users with a safe and enjoyable place to trade." "Great" I thought. Here's a friend. Maybe. Dealing with eBay is a slow and torturous process but after a month of persistence and persuasion, eBay eventually removed the listing from their website. However, my industrious friend beautiful-venus had a new one back up in no time! It too has since been removed and now I'm a regular visitor to his little shop... I have since had a good look around the internet and discovered that I'm not alone. Find out more with Google..... |
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 "ENLARGE")
I have recently become a member of Visual Artists Ireland and would urge all professional artists working in Ireland to do the same. Visual Artists Ireland is an all Ireland body for professional visual artists. It provides services, facilities and resources for artists, initiates artistic projects and publications and acts as an advocate on behalf of individual artists. The organisation was established in 1980 and has a current membership of over 1,200 artists.
For more information, please click HERE or on the link above.
I have also joined the Irish Visual Artists Rights Organisation IVARO.
IVARO was launched in June 2005. It is a copyright collecting society for visual artists. On behalf of its members, it will collect and distribute royalties for the reproduction of visual works of art. IVARO also represents its members in relation to the Artists Resale Right (or "droit de suite") and has already begun collecting and distributing ‘resale royalties’.
IVARO has been established by and is currently resourced by Visual Artists Ireland, the Irish Copyright Licensing Agency and the Copyright Association of Ireland.
Visual artists of every kind are invited to become members of the organisation. There is no membership fee. It is imperative that the organisation secures, as quickly as possible, the largest and widest possible membership of visual artists. It is this which will give the organisation the credibility it needs to fulfill its role effectively.
The Artists Resale Right was introduced in Ireland on 13th of June 2006. IVARO collects and distributes the royalties on behalf of its entitled members. Resale royalties are payable to living artists whenever their work is resold through the professional art market. IVARO is currently monitoring auctions and sales of art on the secondary art market and informing artists of their entitlement.
Go directly to the IVARO website HERE where a membership form can be downloaded