It seems weird to see people stealing art to me. By stealing I don’t mean theft in the traditional way. I’m talking about claiming someone else’s credit and pieces.

       I once had an experience that showed me how awful a practice this was, where someone in high school took one of my original pieces, traced it and begin to claim credit. Then he sold mine!

      Needless to say I was very shocked and angry when I found out about this. I confronted my art teacher. You know what she said? “You shouldn’t get so attached to it”. That’s it. I laughed in her face and said “Of course. You steal kids art all the time, why should I expect a sham artists to get it?”

       Then I went out and beat the crap out of that kid. Yeah, yeah…life isn’t always about positive lessons. And I felt much better afterward.

     I am a lot older now, but the lesson of that moment, over time, has only been reinforced. Just as there are fake soldiers claiming to be warriors, there’s always going to be faux artists.

     If you are one of them STOP IT! Work at your craft! When I hear people put down hardworking artists who’ve paid their dues in thousands of hours of practice. It usually because seeing that level of talent makes them feel inferior. But everyone had to learn and get better. Hell, I still have a LONG way to go! But step by step I’m on the journey.

      The path is a well-known one. So get on!