I didn’t even realise it was Monday yesterday!
And then I worked it out when I found out that today is Tuesday already. Genius. Funny how days sneak around on holiday…
Anyway, I was watching the latest Dr. Who Christmas special the other day and I found myself encountering what must be a common dilemma for artists. That moment you see someone using an idea you have had too – and you have that uncomfortable feeling that is a mixture of ‘No!‘ and slight resentment and yet begrudging (or wholehearted) happiness at watching someone playing with the same concept you like. Happily, I’ve learned to generally Not go all-fetal-in-the-corner when someone has a similar idea. They’re just out there. Maybe we watched the same thing, read the same book, connected the same dots, registered the same delight as a kid over something… Then things percolated, waiting for the right moment to fit in with other ideas, to find the vehicle that would let us play with them and give them voice… Occasionally someone kills one of my ideas by doing something just to damn similar, but generally you just have to wait it out, play with it further until it becomes yours again and remember that you probably got your idea from somewhere too, even if you don’t remember where. So you really shouldn’t get bent out of shape about it.
And what was it? Flying fish.
Here’s a bit of one of mine from a little while back.
Of course, there may be a time when I am sure someone has actually stolen an idea, then… feel my wrath! What is annoying is seeing someone copy something too closely – like all those ads on tv recently in the style of an Amelie memory clip – right down to visual effects, lighting, colour and the voice-over actor. Did they think no one would notice? There’s a big distinction between inspiration and borrowing. We must all make everything our own. It’s like using someone else’s photo from the internet as reference but not bothering to change it, incorporate an aspect into a different scene or make it new in any way. We all get material from somewhere. But the onus is definitely on us to be creative and bring something original to the party.
That wasn’t meant to be a rant! I think it may have turned into one. Sorry 
Long story short… I enjoyed the flying fish and will keep enjoying drawing and painting them myself too.
Have any of you experienced the same thing?
4 Comments
Hi Elise! Hope you and your husband are very well!
I don’t know – I saw the episode a couple of nights ago and I NEVER thought about the two being connected. I adored your drawing when it appeared on your blog and I think the Dr Who flying fish were very different. (Unless you’re planning a great white somewhere along the way?
)
I love the way your work is so extreme with light and shade – it’s appears like sculpted architecture on the page. The Dr Who fish were very different. Loved the episode and I think Stephen Moffat is extremely brilliant at making modern fairy tales, but so are you! And they’re very different.
Don’t feel sad that someone else had the opportunity to release their version into the public arena. I’m still looking forward to yours.
Here are some more I just idly dredged up for your inspiration. All different. Some very special in their own imaginative way:
http://browse.deviantart.com/?q=fish%20in%20the%20sky&order=9&offset=72
Best,
- Ian
Dear Elise,
So sorry for your complicated feelings. How terribly you have got hurt. Sorry. However, it would be very difficult to prove the evidence of a connection between an individual image/idea and other works. So, my artists friends adviced me before I started blogging, “Never upload your best works or ideas on net.”
BTY, a very Happy New Year for you!! Hope such an uncomfortable thing like above will never happen and only nice things for you.
Thank you for encouragement and warm back-ups in 2010. You showed me, a blog beginner, how to do it so kindly last Feb. Today, my blog has more than 120 followers–most are watercolorists all over the world–and we enjoy comments and cheer uo each other. Through your web, I could see my admiring PJ Lynch on his blog. Kind PJ paid a visit for my blog and left a nice comment–my treasure.
I sincerely hope 2011 will be a wonderful year for you.
Best wishes, love and smile,
Sadami
Thanks Ian
I’m not really sad… and I don’t feel that this inhibits me in any way.
Happily people are always going to play with themes and ideas in their own different ways – but I do hope that so many people don’t use the same things so that the idea becomes ordinary! That’s the main fear I think – and that people will see my work and think it’s a copy. And my work does get compared to others’ all the time – sometimes fairly and sometimes quite oddly where I really can’t see a resemblance… But it’s fine. It’s just people looking for things they recognise, which is natural when seeing something quite different to what we’re used to.
Hi Sadami,
No no no I’m not hurt at all – really and truly!!
I just wanted to blog about it because it highlights one of the tricky things about our industry – what to share, what to keep hidden, and how to engage with an idea as it rises and make it your own. And that it’s not always comfortable when you’re one of a small crowd working with the same themes.
There has only been one image that I’ve shared and someone said they thought I was giving away the concept to use. It was nice that he said so before he actually used it – so I could say that I really wasn’t giving it away! I took that particular image down after that. I can’t stop wanting to share my drawings though. And I won’t stop! I know I risk having some ideas get away from me but I would rather risk that than lose the pleasure of showing people what I love to do.
You should be really proud of your blog and your work! It is beautiful and it comes from your heart. You deserve to do so well. Yes – PJ’s work is wonderful isn’t it! I wish you great success this year.
x elise