YModern and Zinamhu Digital Art Ripoffs

I’ve been painting digital art pet portraits for almost ten years. It all started when the iPad came along and my interest in art was reignited. I have my own website and an Etsy site, and upload completed portraits to Zazzle, Redbubble, Pixels/Fine Art America and Amazon Merch. I also have three children’s books that I wrote and illustrated and were self published on Amazon. Every once in a while I check out those websites - and others - to see if any one is abusing my copyright on all those images. I have reported infringements on Amazon - where someone was selling products with my paintings - and Amazon usually removed the abusers. The other day I found and keep finding several websites created by the same person using my images to sell products. The images are taken right off of my Etsy site. I looked to see how to contact them. There is an email address, but it doesn’t automatically take you to email. You have to cut and paste the address. It didn’t matter, because even after sending a cease snd desist letter, I’m still finding my images on several websites. Of course I never received an answer. That’s the problem with digital art. It’s upsetting, but there’s not much that can be done. It won’t stop me from continuing to do what I love, but it couldn’t get any more annoying. 

LITDigitalart Christmas Pet Portraits

I’ve been painting pet portraits for over eight years using my iPad as the canvas and the stylus as my brush. It’s so much neater than watercolors, pastels and charcoal. The Christmas season always tends to be the busiest time of year. Luckily my studio travels with me, but this year was the first time we didn’t drive home for my birthday or Christmas. So I was able to spend more than the usual time getting the requests completed for the holiday deadlines. I really have to thank my repeat customers for remembering me. Many of the commissions came from folks I have done paintings for several years ago. That probably means more to me than any new customer, and the feedback on my Etsy site is so positive. With every portrait I always send the in process, ideas for digitalart options, and a PNG image that can be used if a background is not needed - like for a T-shirt. I never post the final portraits on social media until the holiday passes in the event someone might see it unexpectedly. Once the holiday is over I start to upload the portraits to Fine Art America/Pixels, Zazzle, Redbubble and Amazon Merch to sell the digitalart art images on products; Etsy to showcase my latest work; and all the other social media outlets like Twitter, Facebook Business page, Instagram, and Tumblr. Today I got an email informing me that someone in Suffolk, UK purchased a ten greeting card pack of my Cairn Terrier portrait. What a lovely way to end the year. The profits are tiny, but the idea that someone from across the ocean noticed and purchased my painting out of all the millions of images out there is thrilling. So, thank you so much for trusting my work. I really appreciate it! 

Custom Pet Portrait Christmas Orders

I hate turning people away, but in order to maintain my sanity I need to curtail the requests for pet portraits when I am feeling overwhelmed! Each portrait requires a good chunk of time, in addition to the set up and communication with the customer along the way. And when the portrait is completed, I like to post the final product in my etsy shop, Pixels, and all the other social media. This is my busiest time of year and I really enjoy painting on my iPad, and hoping the portrait will meet everyone's expectations. The memorial portraits are always the most carefully made, because I know how it feels to lose a furry friend. So when the orders start, I not only log them in online, but keep a paper copy in front of me to keep things visual. It shows the dates ordered, the deadline dates, and the status. A big DONE is written over the entry when the time comes. I try to keep things orderly in the queue, and gauge my time accordingly. Luckily I have repeat customers who are sensitive to the time crunch and are willing to wait a little longer. The reactions I get are well worth the effort,  but I am happy to have more time for myself and husband - and life in general - when the rush is over. So if you are ever in the market for a digital art portrait, contact me! But keep in mind things get crazy this time of year.

Wagtime Gallery Wall Update

I've been painting pet portraits over the last few years - dogs, cats, birds. I create them using my iPad - the images are digital and can be used in a variety of ways. Rather than mats and frames, they can be turned in to stretched canvas, t shirts, coffee mugs, and a lot of non conventional items. Thanks to Lisa Schrieber at the Wagtime Shop across from the Navy Yard on Capitol Hill, I also have a gallery wall. And it needed to be updated. I was inundated with custom orders for Christmas, and just now found some time to print the portraits so I could display them. I use my old HP printer to do just that, and it takes awhile to get them all done. So today I finally had an opportunity to freshen things up. Luckily I was able to use my glue spray, and simply apply the new image over the older one. This time I added a few "in process" examples to so how the images are painted. It is surprising how well the portraits withstand the heat and direct sunlight. I'm really happy with the way they turned out, and appreciate the space to showcase them. Thanks Lisa! 

The Cat Fanciers

I really like dogs. We had a golden retriever - Natasha - for sixteen years and a beautiful borzoi - Tatiana - for eleven years. I also like to paint pet portraits on my iPad. They are hand drawn and the end product is a digital image that can be used in a variety of traditional and non traditional ways. This month I received more cat requests than dog requests. For whatever reason, two of my portraits got a lot of attention on my Etsy shop and each image reached over 1000 views in just twenty four hours. It's been fun painting the cats. They have the most beautiful eyes compared to the typical dog! Once the portraits are completed I always print, mat on foam board, and display the images at the Wagtime Shop on Capitol Hill across from the Navy Yard. But I also like to suggest to the customers that the images can also be used to create interesting canvas bags, ornaments, or iPad sleeves. The sky is the limit with digital art. If you asked me even five years ago about painting anything I would have laughed - even though I've been sketching since kindergarten. The iPad has enhanced my life, and this is one of the reasons why. 

LIT's Digital Art Pet Portraits on the Wagtime "Gallery Wall"

It was a very busy holiday season for me. I hand painted about thirty-five digital portraits. Included were a few groups of people but primarily it was dogs and cats of all breeds and in between. I love dogs and so creating these varied images is a treat. I finally had a chance to print them all, mount them on foam board, apply heavy duty velcro, and prepare them for display on the "gallery wall" at the Wagtime Too Shop. It is located across from the Historic Navy Yard on M Street on Capitol Hill. They offer a variety of services and goods for all the pet lovers in town - "boarding, daycare, grooming, & cool stuff." Unfortunately I ran out of foam board and photo paper, but had enough to complete and hang twenty portraits with eight more to go. The owners of the shops, Lisa Schrieber and Ofer Khal (there is also another one located on 9th Street NW) have allowed me to continue filling the space like wallpaper. There are now over 50 renderings on display. It's a great way to showcase digital art and is in such a perfect setting to show off all the furry friends from as far away as Australia, Canada, California, and Texas. Thanks Lisa and Ofer!

 

Staples - Ink and Coffee

It's an expensive habit but a necessary one. I use my desktop printer to make 8 x 10 prints of my dog and cat portraits to mount on foam board and hang in the Wagtime shop on Capitol Hill across from the Historic Navy Yard. I also need to print 4 x 6 photos of the items I receive for commissioned orders so I can first sketch the subject. I then look at the photo as my "subject" while I'm painting the portrait on my iPad - no different, and no easier, than using a paintbrush on a canvas. Regardless, I need to get replacement ink for my printer, as I have been printing a lot lately because of several holiday requests. So we rode over to Alexandria to the Staples shop, and used my "discount" ink and toner savings pass to save a couple bucks. While there, we picked up a few Keurig Coffee K cup packs as we just ran out over the recent Thanksgiving dinner! So we killed two birds with one stone and it was a delightful ride on a brisk sunny day. Now I need to get to work as those portraits are calling!