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| Rolling Fog 7x9 Oil - Copy (studio) |
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| Rolling Fog 7x9 - Original (en plein air) |
I pity the sweatshop workers at the Chinese painting mills, the ones on the assembly lines who copy Van Gogh's “Starry Night” and other paintings endlessly for people who crave “originals”—but at a very, very low price. Their goal is to make as close to an exact copy as possible. Many of these workers, I understand, are highly-trained artists.
But other than a paycheck, where's the satisfaction? Where's the creativity? Yes, it's a job, but I can't imagine that these artists don't wish that, just once, they could add their own, personal touch to the Van Gogh. I imagine the copyist saying to himself: “Wouldn't it be better if I added a flock of crows flying against the moon?”
Recently, a patron purchased from my website a nice little painting. But alas! That painting is currently under lockdown on Campobello Island in Canada, tucked away in my summer studio there. Because of the pandemic and the fact that I live in the US, there was no way I could get the painting for him. So, I offered to make a copy, but with the caveat that it would not be exact.
I've made copies of my paintings before. (Here's an earlier post on that.) And I do try to be exact. But despite my best intentions, as I put brush to canvas, a little voice always says: “Wouldn't it be better if...”
I usually listen to that voice. If the change doesn't improve the painting, I scrape it out. But most often, the change stays.
I always send a photo of the completed copy before shipping it. If my patron doesn't like it, I'll put his money toward the purchase of any other painting. (Whenever possible, I try not to give refunds—I like to keep a sale.) If he does like the copy but, upon arrival, the painting doesn't please, I tell him he can exchange the painting. Or, in the case of my recent patron, if he doesn't like it, I have offered to swap it for the original, if I'm ever allowed back into Canada to retrieve it.
For the copy I just made, I felt that crisper edges and a little more seaweed in the rocks plus some other, more subtle changes would make the painting better. And they did. Creativity came into play, making the work much more pleasurable.
