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The fine line of Copyright
Michele, I am so happy that you addressed this issue. I was hoping that eventually someone might comment exactly on the issue of copyright infringement after seeing how I dealt with creating the backdrop to change the original photo.
It has come to my attention that many artists work reflects certain aspects of other people's work, whether in pose, application of background, or even subject matter. I personally admit to collecting "props" from sources all over and incorporating them in my painting, as was the case with some of the fruit (sources: cookbook, images on the net, etc.).
I totally agree with all the points you have made, but there are times when I don't have the necessary things to create the environment I am after. This brings me to the painting at hand and the points you have brought up.
Let's say I would turn the man into a woman who wears a burka (long garment that covers a Middle Eastern woman from head to toe), with the burka being still the same color and the woman assuming the same stance, would I then be safe to call it my own creation?
Elements that have changed:
Background
Gender
Elements that are the same:
Colors - to a certain degree
Stance and action of main character
Some of you might wonder, why on earth I would want to go through all this trouble. I have lived in Iran and even as a child have been facinated by the mystic of the Middle East. I want to use memories of scenes I have witnessed or places that I still recall, in my work. I have a lot of Iranian friends who are my target audience for portraiture in that style. So you can see that I will have to create my own Middle Eastern environments to achieve my goal. That is also why I need to know exactly how much I can borrow from other sources to turn the work into my own creation.
I don't want to intentionally cross the "fine line of copyright infringement"; that's why I appreciate as much clarification of this matter as possible.
Critiques on technique are also welcomed!
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