The Dangers of the "I Can Paint That" Mentality

As a gallery that takes pride in our diverse selection of emerging and established Canadian artists, it is important to us that their work and process be both respected and understood.

When you see original artwork in a gallery, know that even the most minimalist works involve a substantial amount of time, effort and thought.  Artists spend years developing their style and honing their creative skills.

This sentiment is exactly why we take such offense to a publication of a DIY (Do it yourself) project that was recently featured in a popular Canadian home design magazine, as well as a daytime design television show. Both of these were unfortunately brought to our attention by the artist who was, needless to say, shocked and insulted upon discovering them. It was bad enough that such an obvious copy of artist Meredith Bingham's fine tuned style was published, but to make things worse, the painting was attributed to the artist by stating it was "inspired by a real Meredith Bingham piece". This label may have been a benign attempt to give credit to the artist, but in actuality it diminished and devalued her originality by categorizing it naively with an "I can paint that" mentality.

An unfortunate example of the "I can paint that" mentality

Design magazines and programs have been an important aid in helping to promote artists, such as the pages featured below by Canadian House and Home. They have been excellent in showcasing our local and creative talent also providing ideas on how to incorporate original artwork into home decor. We are grateful for this exposure, but believe that all branches of the art and design industry have a responsibility to protect the creativity and reputation of the artists.  To state it bluntly, the designer involved should have known better, and the magazine should have never allowed the article to be published. The fault can be attributed to both parties.

 The proper way to showcase an artist, courtesy of "Canadian House & Home Magazine"

Downgrading the livelihood of artists to a simple DIY hobby is damaging to both the artists careers, as well as to the overall importance of the arts. We appreciate the artist and some of our clients bringing this incident to our attention, and hope that by speaking out we can prevent this sort of unfortunate occurrence from happening again in the future.

To view more original work by Meredith Bingham as well as our other artists, please visit www.canvasgallery.ca.

**Please forward and get the message out. Thank you.