I really wasn't expecting this:-

Here’s a turn up for the books, dearly beloved. A couple of weeks ago Steve from Afan Nedd Arts group told me about the Big Art of Swansea competition, which is taking place today. Offering a first prize of £300 you can see that this is a very interesting proposition, basically giving you 8 hours today to go out and about and produce a work of art displaying Swansea’s hidden beauty. Yes, I was definitely interested, but since it clashes with my grandson’s birthday party it’s a real non starter, so I didn’t pursue it any further.

Okay, so, yesterday I was checking in on the South Wales Urban Sketchers group page on Facebook, and there was an advertisement for the Big Art competition. This advert.

Now, if you look at the top right hand corner you’ll see a sketch of Bonmarche and Betfred in Swansea.

My sketch.

This sketch.

Now, while I of course felt flattered that they liked my sketch enough to want to use it, I was bloody furious that someone would just take my sketch and use it without so much as a by-your-leave. Yes, I'm no professional, but on the other hand when people have either commissioned me or used one of my existing sketches in the past, then they’ve always been good enough to ask in the first place, and to pay an agreed fee in the second place.

I emailed the organisers to make them aware that they were using my sketch without permission, and as far as I was concerned, breaking my copyright. I'm no legal expert one way or another. I always thought that once you create something, you automatically have copyright, but whether that is affected by posting it on the net I couldn't tell you. This is what we have lawyers for. But I do think that if you use someone's work to, for example, advertise an event, it's only fair to do your best to contact them and ask if it's ok with you. Looking at the Urban Sketching manifesto – where it says we are committed to ‘sharing our sketches and stories freely ‘- I could if I were being pedantic point to the fact that there are several meanings of the word 'freely' - it doesn't necessarily mean 'without charge' - it all depends on the context. In this context the meaning ' without any pressure needing to be put on us, of our own free will' is appropriate for example. Until my telephone conversation with the organisers, I did not know whether the Big Art of Swansea is a profit making event or not, and this is something which would always be a factor in whether I wanted my sketch to be associated with the event or not.

I would argue that when your work is used without your knowledge then this is absolutely not a case of us sharing our sketches freely - because our own free will has been taken out of the equation. Now, I'm not suggesting for one minute that Big Art of Swansea is anything but a thoroughly reputable event. I have no doubt that it is. But let's say for the sake of argument that a sketch or painting which you were proud enough to have posted on the internet was appropriated by a company or an organisation to which you were opposed. Let's supposed it was used without your permission on promotional material. Personally I don't think that you should feel obliged to accept it just because we are committed as urban sketchers to sharing our work online. Just my opinion - feel free to disagree.

Well, as I said the organisers, to be fair, did ring me promptly and apologise. They were under the impression that this was a freely available image, and offered to take it down immediately, or to credit me. I’ll be honest, my dander was up a bit, and my initial reaction was that this was not going to cut it unless they paid the going rate for my commercial work since essentially this was what they had made out of my sketch. I’m not a professional but I do undertake commission work for a nominal fee. I calmed down though, and we settled the issue amicably between us. 

As a postscript to the above, part of our agreement involved me agreeing to be a judge in the competition. However the event has been postponed due to the inclement weather in Swansea today, and from next Saturday onwards I’m off on my troubles again, so I’ve felt it’s only right for me to withdraw.