Last week one of my workshop students was kind enough to message me that she had seen prints of one of my paintings for sale at a Hobby Lobby (in Georgia). She recognized the painting (pictured above) because she was in my workshop when I painted it! She also found it online for sale on the Hobby Lobby website. Although you would expect me to be happy and excited, I was angry. No, worse than that. Super pissed!
Hang in there and I will explain why. A few years ago I signed an art licensing agreement with a woman who had come recommended to me by two artists I knew online (and yes, I called them and checked her references). Things went great for the first year and then my "agent" (as I will refer to her), went cuckoo on me. Her behavior became irrational and she started calling me all of the time to complain and scream about things that had nothing to do with me! I checked in with my artist friends to see what was up and they both informed me they had dropped this "agent" a while back when she went cuckoo on them. It got so bad that I tried to get out of my contract with her. Then she started threatening me and it got worse when I told her there was no way I would sign another contract with her. (Seriously? How could she possibly think I would sign another contract with her?) Her last comment to me was "I will ruin you Leslie. I will prevent anyone from using your art for licensing and you will never see a penny from me." Nice ... So, here we are, a year later and my contract with "my agent" expired nearly a year ago. Even the "six month cooling off period" (or whatever it is called) that allows her to still collect on my art has expired. But do you want to know the really bad news? My "agent" signed an extended contract with a publisher for my art work. And that contract didn't expire until recently. Even though she didn't have a valid contract with me! So, what does all this mean? It's pretty cut and dried. My "agent" is getting paid for this. Not me. There is a zero chance I will see a penny from the Hobby Lobby deal. I know what you are thinking. "Take her to court!". "Sue her!". Yeah sure. I am pretty sure it would cost me a lot more in legal fees than what I was likely to collect. What makes this whole ordeal so ironic is that last Thursday we did a show on the Artists Helping Artists show about legal issues for artists. We discussed art licensing and how you need to protect yourself. And it was only three hours after the show that I got the message about my art in Hobby Lobby. Ugh. Now that is pretty weird. Listen to the AHA show. Hopefully the information will help protect you from the nightmare I have been through ...
19 Comments
6/20/2016 04:09:39 am
This is so frustrating - a similar thing happened to me except an artist/art licenser helped himself to my images without my permission and recreated and reproduced them large scale and sold them. When I found out, I tried to work with him but he kept helping himself to my work still without my consent - years later, I'm still asking him to take paintings down from his website. And most recently, they offered me a 'commission' on one of my own paintings they reproduced (without my permission) and sold for profit . The owner remarked that I should be flattered he was using my work. He sells to hotels and other commercial buildings, I'll never know how much of my work has been distributed illegally. Since his business is out of state it is impossible to bring him to court - I'd have to hire a lawyer where I live, pay for the lawyer's fees plus travel expenses for both of us.
Reply
6/20/2016 09:33:17 am
So sad it has happened to you, Lisa! Aaa...those people! What a nerve..
Reply
6/20/2016 01:35:40 pm
Hi Marta, I sent you an email - I'm looking forward to corresponding. 6/20/2016 05:29:36 am
Leslie,
Reply
Leslie Saeta
6/20/2016 07:16:49 am
It's important to realize that Hobby Lobby and the art licensing company haven't really done anything wrong. They acted in good faith and are paying for my images. The problem is tha "my agent" is getting paid. Not me.
Reply
6/20/2016 07:22:36 am
Leslie, I know the legal system doesn't make it easy or monetarily feasible to go after this person but from previous experience in business, a "cease & desist" letter to her and to Hobby Lobby is very important. One, Hobby Lobby will definitely pay attention to that and since you have a "a real crazy one" on your hands, it sets a track record for you in case she continues this with other retailers. If she got the contract with Hobby Lobby, then she can get others. Having all those prints out there selling at cheap prices will affect your sales and reputation that you have worked so hard to establish, especially if she does this with more and more retailers. And what if she goes to the online businesses like Wayfair, etc. so an official "cease & desist" letter with backup of your expired contract will at least show that you took action if it gets worse. This sure worked for us in businesses and didn't cost a lot and when it didn't work, we had proof when it got more out of hand to fall back on. So sorry that this happened. If she is doing this to you I'm sure she is doing it to others. May be making a good living illegally!!!!! That's the pits! You probably know this already and " I'm pissed for you" too!!!!!
Reply
6/20/2016 01:37:38 pm
Dee...glad you brought up a cease and desist letter...I was just thinking of that as an option...and yes if Leslie can speak to Hobby Lobby Marketing that might help at least stop the sales and potentially expose this "agent"
Reply
Dana
8/17/2016 02:56:40 pm
Hobby Lobby is SO proud of its Christian values and vibe that a letter expecting them to not steal, etc might actually work, even if "they" weren't the original "sinner." Best wishes.
Reply
6/20/2016 07:33:54 am
So sorry to hear about this, Leslie. This happened to my late father who was a prolific painter. His work was used for an ad campaign for a national chain store without his permission. He felt the same. And as to the agent going nuts on you, one of his galleries in Taos - an "A" list blue chip gallery also started to deal with him strangely and not remitted money from sales. So it happens to the best artists. Again - so sorry to hear about this.
Reply
Paulette Carr
6/20/2016 08:09:46 am
I am so sorry that you have this issue. I wonder if you could, not necessarily file a law suit, but maybe have her charged with fraud? I believe the other organizations involved acted in good faith, however, if she did not inform you of contracts that went beyond what you contracted with her, that is not good faith and she did not represent you into that time frame. And as for her taking money on those contracts, that is where the fraud would come into effect. I am not a lawyer or even in the legal field, but if you have a friend who is, perhaps, they could advise you on this and at least get a cease and desist against her. Praying that this all works out for good for you. It is such a kick in the teeth for some one who makes so much effort to help other artists to be treated this way.
Reply
6/20/2016 09:55:05 am
This sucks. You should be pissed and not let this just happen without a little bit of fight. I think all the ideas the others have listed sound good. Hobby Lobby should at least be told they're dealing with a shiester.
Reply
Hilary
6/20/2016 11:43:33 pm
While I agree with what you're saying, I wish you would not use racist language to do it. Even though you misspelled the word, "shyster" has a long history of being an Anti-Semitic slur.
Reply
Annoymous
6/20/2016 12:01:52 pm
I agree that you should draw up a cease and desist letter and I think that Hobby Lobby will comply. You should see if this crazy agent has treated others artists in this way and made money off of them. If there are others, you may be able to do a class action lawsuit. There's more power in numbers.
Reply
6/20/2016 02:47:24 pm
Pissed for you as well. Hoping you will find a resolution, and that she will get what is coming to her.
Reply
Hi Leslie, Thank you so much for your informative blog. I have a couple questions. What program do you use for your virtual staging of your artwork? Also, do you have a transcript of your AHA legal advice piece. For some reason, I am not able to play it on my computer.
Reply
Darlene Pilcher
6/20/2016 03:46:00 pm
So sorry. Perhaps a letter to Hobby Lobby might nudge them into dropping her.
Reply
6/22/2016 07:34:05 am
My heart goes out to you for being so gracious in this despicable situation. Certainly this licensing agent should be outed. I have often thought about licensing a couple of my pieces but # 1 I am not aggressive enough to pursue this and #2 who can I trust?
Reply
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Leslie
Mom. Wife. Artist. Marketer. Teacher. Radio Show Host. Archives
July 2017
Categories
All
My Favorite ThingsSome of my posts contain affiliate links for your convenience. Click here for full disclosure.
|