Art Fairs and Festivals

I get a lot of questions about hanging artwork at art fairs and festivals and I never really have any good answers.

Here's a great blog for that type of information:

R. Garriott

And another:

Dianne Poinski

Enjoy!

Commission, Part 3

I wanted to blog about the other pieces I created for my commission, and this is the second on that I worked on.

The original piece is two 12" x 12" panels that I created about 5 years ago, while I was in grad school.

If I remember correctly, the panel on the left has white paper and a color copy of clouds glued to the surface. I drew the triangles with oil pastel and did a solvent transfer of the telephone pole from a copy. The right panel is similar - white paper, oil pastel, and a solvent transfer. Except I can't remember how I made the transfer on the right so much lighter...

So they wanted this piece to be 48" x 66". Since the original was a diptych, I decided to do this piece on 2 panels as well, so the panels ended up being 48" x 33".

This piece was by far the most difficult. Nothing worked out the way I had originally planned it. Plan A was to glue down a color copy of clouds, do solvent transfers of the telephone poles onto the panels, paint clear wax on, collage in a large piece of tissue/rice paper with the triangles and words, and then add some transparent blue wax.

Well, the large copies that I had made for me wouldn't transfer with the solvent. I had done a test with a copy I already had and it worked. So maybe they changed the type of machine they used or they type of toner, or something. But it worked as a transfer directly onto the wax (without solvent), so I decided that I would do that.

Lots of other things didn't work, either. The large color copy was way more than I wanted to spend, so I got a black and white copy and colored it with colored pencil.

I also had a problem collaging in the paper. The only paper that I could find that was large enough to cover the whole panel was apparently not absorbent enough, because it didn't soak into the wax like I needed it to. It just made a big wrinkly mess.

And the transparent blue wax didn't work. As I mentioned before, working large in encaustic is definitely a challenge. I couldn't get the surface to look smooth and even like I wanted it to. I just didn't like the way it looked. So I scraped it off. From both panels.

So on to Plan Q...
Here you can see how I transferred the words to the right panel. That's the tissue paper that I was originally going to collage in. I used blue transfer paper to get it on the panel. Then I wrote over it with a blue colored pencil.

I then covered both panels with clear encaustic medium. It was much easier to get the clear wax smoother. Or maybe the unevenness just wasn't as noticeable with the clear.

Here are the panels with several layers of clear wax added.

So then I did the transfers. I have good transfer karma, for some reason. I have friends that have tried and tried to do transfers (solvent or wax), and can't do them at all. So these large transfers weren't hard, just time consuming. The paper really stuck to the wax, so most of the labor involved wetting and rubbing the paper off.

Here's what it looks like after I've burnished the transfer and I'm rubbing away the paper that has stuck.

And here are both pieces with the tranfers. I couldn't really make the one on the right lighter like it is in the original, but I tried to make it rougher and less dark. I even sanded away a little bit of the toner.

Instead of using the blue wax, I decided to rub a thin layer of oil paint onto the surface. I scratched the triangles and the houses into the surface using a needle tool and rubbed the oil paint into the scratched lines, and then continuing over the whole surface. If it got too heavy, I would add some linseed oil to a paper towel and rub some of the oil off.

And here's the final piece. I like the way it came out, even though I think it's different than the original.

Commission, part 2

So, as I mentioned in the previous post, I was commissioned to create a piece similar to the piece pictured above, but in a much larger size.

The original bird pieces were 20" x 16" and the painting in the center was 12" x 12" and they wanted the final piece to be a triptych, each 45" x 17".

I had some 45" x 17" birch panels created by a local woodworker, and then made my plan of attack.
The original bird piece on the left is also on a wood panel. I had brushed on some clear encaustic medium, and then collaged the birds in (cut out of black paper). I painted the red birds on top using oil paint.

The bird piece on the right is similar, but the red birds are drawn on the board with colored pencil, clear medium was added, and then I collaged in the birds cut out of black paper.

The piece in the center was created while I was in grad school, but luckily I still have it, so I could look at it. I had stretched raw canvas over a board and then wrote using oil pastel and I did a solvent transfer of the telephone pole directly to the canvas and covered it with clear encaustic medium. I think I then carved lines using a needle tool and filled them in with oil paint. Then I covered it with a layer of orange-ish medium. That may not be right, but that's my best guess. It was five years ago, after all!

I was a little hesitant to do a transfer of the telephone pole, since the other elements were more hard-edged. So I decided to paint it directly onto the panel using gouache.

Since I hardly ever throw anything away, I still had most of the original imagery that I had used in the original pieces. So I enlarged some copies and used carbon paper to transfer it to the panel. Then I painted it in with black gouache and did the lines using a Sharpie.

I did similar things for the other 2 panels with the birds. On one I painted the birds with black gouache and cut out red paper, and the other I painted with red gouache and cut out black paper. I ended up removing some of the cut out birds so each set of birds and trees didn't look exactly the same.
So in the photo above, on the left panel, the birds are painted in black gouache and the red is cut paper, and on the right panel, the red is gouache and the black is cut paper. So that's what it looked like before I added any wax.

I found this ginormous hake brush at Jerry's Artarama in Austin. It's helpful to scale up your brushes when you scale up your work. And although these pieces are tall, they're not really terribly much bigger than my other work, so it wasn't too hard to get a nice, even surface on these.

I brushed on a few layers of encaustic medium and fused with a heat gun. Then I added the cut paper and collaged it in using some more medium. Here's an image of the pieces with all the wax added.

I really like the way it looks here, but I knew that it wasn't exactly what the client had asked for. After conferring with my friend, we agreed that I should make the middle panel look more like the original (more orange-y), so I scored lines into the wax using a needle tool, and added some reddish-orange oil paint, rubbing it into the scored lines and also leaving a little bit of paint on the surface.

So here's the final piece:

I'm really happy with the way it turned out!

Update:
Here's a shot of the piece installed in the spa at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa!:

Commission

OK, I'm not going to go on and on about what a bad blogger I am...

I have been busy, though. I just completed my very first commission! I'm very excited about it. It was a real challenge, but I enjoyed it very much.

I got the commission through a friend. She was bidding on a large hotel project and needed more artwork, so she asked her artist friends to submit their work. So I sent her links to my Flickr sets of 3 painting series, Palimpsest, Seeking Shelter, and Waxy Buildup. She included several pieces in her presentation, and they chose 4 pieces.

The first one is actually a triptych made of one of the Seeking Shelter pieces and two of the Palimpsest pieces. An interesting combination that I wouldn't have thought of.

The original bird pieces were 20" x 16" and the piece in the middle was 12" x 12". The piece they commissioned is 3 panels measuring 45" x 17".

So I needed to recreate this piece in that new size. They don't expect it to be exactly like the original, but similar style, colors, etc.

The second piece was originally 12" x 24" (actually two 12" x 12" panels) and they wanted it reproduced 48" x 66". I ended up doing it on two 48" x 33" panels, since it had been a diptych to begin with.

The third was originally 12" x 12" and they wanted it 43" x 43"!

And the last was also originally a 12" x 12" and they commissioned it at 31" x 41".

All of the pieces are encaustic. And if you've ever done large-scale encaustic painting, you know what a challenge it is. I'd never done anything this large before. And I'd also never tried to reproduce my paintings before. So it was quite a challenge!

Some specific challenges:
-Many of these pieces were created 4 or 5 years ago, and I don't have them any more, and I barely remember how I made them. I can now really appreciate those crazy, anal-retentive artists who make copious notes about their colors and processes!

-I used a lot of collage elements that are difficult to scale up to a larger size - maps, transfers, cut paper, etc. Also, one piece has a lot of scraping on it. It was 12" x 12" and the marks are made by a regular sized paint scraper. Hard to reproduce that affect on a 43" x 43" piece!

-I find it really difficult to get a smooth surface with encaustic at such a large size.

I'll go into more detail in future posts about each piece and show lots of work in progress shots. So stay tuned!

Summer Object Challenge

I joined a Bee Team project called the Summer Object Challenge. Those who signed up were paired with a partner who sent them an object to use in an encaustic piece.

Melissa Hronkin sent me a lovely little red doily and some contact sheets from someone's wedding photos, probably from the 50's. This is what I was inspired to create:

To Have, To Hold
collage, foil transfer, and encaustic
12" x 12"

I couldn't bring myself to mess up the contact sheets, so I made copies and glued them to the board. Then I covered the board with clear medium and embedded the doily in the wax. Then I used some gold embossing foil (that a student gave me) - writing on it to transfer the foil to the wax.

detail of the doily

Oh, and there's me!

The Encaustic Center

Deanna Wood and Bonny Leibowitz are proud to announce the opening of The Encaustic Center in Richardson, Texas. Our focus is sharing the beautiful art of painting with wax in all of its various forms.

The Encaustic Center offers beginner and intermediate workshops and studio workdays along with special events such as demonstrations, exhibitions, guest artists, supplies and our big Grand Opening May 15th!

Check out our website to see more information on classes and events going on at the center.

If you're in the area, I hope you can make it to the Grand Opening on May 15, 7-10 pm. There will be artists from TexasWAX/Dallas doing encaustic demos, music, and more.

Workshop schedule:
$100 (includes all materials)
April:
Thursday, April 30 - 9:30 am to 3:30 pm - beginner workshop with Deanna
May:

Saturday, May 2, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm - beginner workshop with Bonny

Saturday, May 23, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm - intermediate workshop with Deanna

Thursday, May 28, 9:30 am to 3:30 pm - beginner workshop with Deanna

See Deanna's work at www.deannawood.com
See Bonny's work at www.bonnyleibowitz.com

The Encaustic Center
580 W. Arapaho #271
Richardson, Texas 75080

directions

www.theencausticcenter.com

Connection

(a version of this is also posted on Make28)

During yoga class the other day, my teacher was talking about the theme for the week - finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. She said something about "connection," and that stuck with me. During the rest of the class, I thought about the concept of connection as it relates to Make28.

Make28 is a project that was dreamed up by my online friend, Consumatron. He set a goal for himself to create a video every day in February, and he challenged everyone to join him by making something every day as well. So a few of us joined in and have also been making stuff - food, paintings, videos, drawings, journeys, enemies, music...

This project has created many connections, the most obvious being the connections we made with each other. I've really enjoyed seeing what everyone's made, how they interpreted the concept of "making," and glimpsing a little bit of everyone's creative processes. I love to see how other people work, create, and solve problems, even in different disciplines.

In Fearless Creating, Eric Maisel mentions the importance of getting together with other artists. "If you are a novelist, when do you meet with painters, dancers, musicians, and filmmakers to talk about your mutual concerns? When do you meet to discuss selling art, managing depression, or surviving as a truthful witness in America? My estimate would be never. This is really too bad. ...you will surely suffocate if you live in a vacuum."

I think projects like Make28 can be an important part of a creative life, creating connections with others working on different things, but with the same goal.

During these 28 days, I've also made some less obvious connections. Just the act of sitting down and making something every day has helped me to connect more with my creativity. Even if what I made wasn't that great or if it's not related to bigger things I'm doing, I know that what I'm making now will inform something else that I make in the future.

Here's a collection of the things that I made during February:

You can see more in my Flickr set. And the whole Make28 Flickr pool.

How do you make creative connections?

Oh, and Make28 will continue, so feel free to join in!

Creativity

Being part of the Make28 creativity challenge, has made me focus on making something every day. And that's got me thinking about creativity and all its forms.

So I've been extra sensitive to information about creativity and of course, I start seeing it everywhere, or at least I start paying attention.

I thought I'd share a couple of videos with you. They've been making the rounds, but perhaps you haven't seen them yet.

This is from Atlanta based editorial photographer, Zack Arias:


And this is a TED talk by Elizabeth Gilbert:


I'll be posting more soon.

Happy Valentine's Day

Make something!
make28.com

Make 28

One of my online friends, Consumatron, has started a "make something every day" challenge for February, called Make 28:



So watch the video for inspiration and then make something. Anything. And then send him a link to what you make. Go to consumatron.net and leave a link in the comments. Send him an email at consumatron at gmail.com. Or follow him on Twitter.

Here's a preview of what I've been making so far:


You can see more on Flickr.

So what are you going to make?

Whine of the Week

I've been unmotivated and even more prone to procrastination lately. I've been complaining about it and moping around and procrastinating even more. But of course I know what I need to do.

I guess it always goes back to fear - fear of failure - fear of looking stupid. I always let my perfectionist tendencies get the best of me. I want things to be right, and if something can't be perfect, then I tend not to do it at all.

Blah blah blah...

So I'm hoping that maybe posting about it will help snap me out of it!

Exhibit in Oklahoma!

reception at the Leslie Powell Foundation Gallery, January 10, 2009

I can't believe I forgot to post this!

My solo exhibit, Seeking Shelter, is on display at the Leslie Powell Foundation and Gallery in Lawton Oklahoma until February 28, 2009.

It's probably the last time I'll exhibit this work all together in this form. I still want to continue this series, but I don't know that I'll actively pursue exhibitions with it any more. It's already been in several venues across the country - Kansas, Georgia, Iowa, Nevada, and 2 venues in Oklahoma.

As you can see from the first photo, I installed a miniature version of my hanging spiral tornado. The full version includes almost 200 small tornadoes. This one only has about 30.

If you're near Lawton, please stop by and check it out!

Gift Exchange

I'm a member of the Bee Team, which is a group of Etsy sellers who use encaustic in their art. We had a group gift exchange this year, and you can see the gift above that I received from Supria at Supria's Designs. It's a beautiful encaustic and collage painting titled Madame Butterfly.

Thanks Supria! I love it.

Thanks so much to all the Bee Team members, and especially to Pam for organizing the exchange.

Oh yeah, I have work in some shows...

Subdivision - encaustic and oil on panel, 12" x 12"

My work is part of a group show, Shelter, at Olson-Larsen Galleries in West Des Moines, Iowa.

The show runs until January 3, 2009.

The Living Wood - altered book

I also have 2 artist's books in a juried book show, Dog-Eared: Revealing the Contents of Artist's Books at Purdue University.

F3, Languish - collage, oil pastel, solvent transfer, encaustic and oil on panel, two 12" x 12" panels

Upcoming:
My solo exhibit, Seeking Shelter will be on display at the Leslie Powell Foundation Gallery in Lawton, Oklahoma starting January 10, 2009.

Also:
You can follow me on Twitter now:
http://twitter.com/deannawood

I've actually been Twittering for quite a while now, but I set up a new public Twitter persona that is strictly art-related. I won't tweet about my cats or swear like my evil Twitter twin does.

Finding a Balance

I've been conflicted recently about where to show my artwork.

Part of me knows that I need to just get it out there and let people see it, regardless of the venue. But then I have this other part of me (I call it the art snob) that only wants my work to be in respectable places, like commercial galleries and art centers.

My friend Junanne says that she doesn't care where her art is - she says she'll hang it on a fence as long as people will see it.

So I guess I want to be somewhere in between. In the past I've shown my work in places that I wouldn't necessarily put on my resume, just to get it out there. I think I need to continue. You just never know who will see it.

How do you decide where to show your work?

Staying Positive

Despite the downturn in the economy, I've actually had my best year yet as an artist, so it's not too hard for me to stay positive.

But if you're overwhelmed with all the bad news on the financial front, watch Alyson's Stanfield's inspirational video:



Speaking of practicing gratitude - thanks Alyson, for all the support and encouragement that you give to artists!

De-Pinked

As you can see, I've changed my template back to it's original non-pink state. I enjoyed "going pink" and seeing all the other blogs and websites that went Pink for October.

My son and I walked in the Komen Dallas Race for the Cure on October 18.

the view from the starting line

us at the starting line

lots and lots of people! over 25,000!

It was such a positive atmosphere, with everyone there honoring loved ones who had been lost to breast cancer or celebrating those who were survivors. Very moving and inspiring.

We were on the Texas Woman's University team, Pioneers for the Cure, who raised $1785.

Thanks to everyone who supported me and helped me raise $291 for the cause!

• Myra Pralle (my mom)
• Ronald and Patricia Bradley (my dad and stepmom)
• Shirley Sisk
• Susan Yasi
• Jennifer Jensen
• Mary Richmond
  

You can donate until November 15 at my webpage on the team site. Or on the Komen site. Or the American Cancer Society.

Find out about risk factors and prevention on the Komen site.

Happy Halloween!

See more funny videos and Funny Videos at Today's Big Thing.

I've Gone Pink for October!

As you may know, October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. There are lots of ways that you can participate, contribute, and show your support.

First of all, if you'd like to "go pink" as well, visit Pink for October for lots of information, graphics you can download (like the one above), and you can link your site to them.

I also pinked up my website.

I'm going to participate in the 2008 Komen Race for the Cure in Dallas (I keep typing Race for the Cute!) on October 18. If you would like to join the race, visit the Komen Dallas website. If you would like to support me in the race, visit my Race for the Cure page. If you would like to find a race in your area or find out more about breast cancer, visit the Komen website.

Update: by "participate" I mean I'll be there. Not running. I might meander. Or stroll. As my friend Tracey says, I only run if someone is chasing me...

And then there's the Boobiethon. This is brilliant. Until October 7th, you can look at pictures of covered boobs and if you want to see them uncovered, you can donate money. The internet was invented for porn, might as well use it for good and not for evil, right? So, if you're an exhibitionist, you can submit your own photos. Or, if you're a voyeur, donate some money and see some boobies* for a good cause. *(this particular page is not safe for work, but the others are)

There are a ton of other ways you can participate, so please do so.

On a personal note, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago. She's doing fine now, but there's always the risk that it will return. I would love it if she (and all the other breast cancer survivors) could live in a world where she wouldn't have to worry about that.

Predatory Practices

Recently I saw a call for entries for a new local hotel looking for artwork. There wasn't much information, so I emailed the contact person and they sent me the prospectus (I've bolded the parts that concern me):

Announcing a new competition to find a few local artists to produce original artwork for the new NYLO Hotel under construction in Las Colinas, Texas located at 1001 W Royal Lane, Irving, Texas 75039.
The contest is open to everyone and particularly we hope to attract the interest of up and coming local artists and art student and faculty at local schools. The contest runs August 1, 2008- October 31, 2008.
Please submit a digital copy of your work along with the release form to Amanda Emmo at LasColinasArtContest@nylohotels.com by October 31, 2008.
After submittals, the NYLO judges (which shall consist of the NYLO executive team and perhaps one or two persons active in the local art community) will have an artist luncheon to meet the artists.
Prior to embarking on your work we urge you to please visit our website www.nylohotels.com and, if you have the chance drive by the site to get a feel for the setting. More details about what the hotel is looking for:

Guest Room Art Specifications:
1. One large or three smaller but related pieces of art on canvas (oil, acrylic or mixed media)
2. The pieces should involve the use of colors
3. Emotive Objective
• Loft living
• Relaxation
• Local Connection
• Romantic / Sexy
• Warm
• Western/Texas Lifestyle
4. The pieces will be displayed in each guestroom within an area of 7 feet in length x 3 ½ feet high above the sofa (we will have 200 total guestrooms).
5. Dimensions of each of the three pieces should be 24 inches long x 30 inches high (or thereabouts at the artists discretion) – or alternatively, one large piece of no less than 4 feet long x 30 inches high.
6. The winning pieces will be reproduced utilizing a gicleé process so that the original integrity of the artwork is still upheld and displayed in the guestrooms.
7. No artwork including nude subjects will be taken into consideration as winning pieces.
Corridor/Public Space Artwork Specifications
1. Photography
2. To be displayed on acrylic
3. Emotive objective
• Urban / Industrial City Scenes
• Loft Living
• Nightlife
• Partying/ Entertaining
• Energy
• People
• Living
• Western/Texas Lifestyle
• Lone Stars
• Ranches

Prizes
There will be three main winners in each of the two categories, guestroom and corridor. The cash prize breakdown is as follows*:
Guestroom: 1st place - $2,250
2nd place - $1,750
3rd place - $1,250
Corridor: 1st place - $1,500
2nd place - $1,000
3rd place - $750

There are also other considerable “perks” to winning such as:
• Media exposure
• An invitation to the art contest luncheon with members of the NYLO design and management team
• Artwork displayed on the hotel website with contact information for the artist
• Guests can purchase the artwork at a reasonable price determined by NYLO**

* Each contestant acknowledges that it is NYLO’s intent to ultimately use the winning artwork in each of its guestrooms, corridors and public space and therefore, each winning contestant shall agree to transfer all copyright and ownership rights with respect to such Artwork to NYLO in exchange for the cash prize awarded and shall execute all documents necessary to provide for such transfer of rights. NYLO may choose to purchase additional artwork outside of the predetermined prize values listed above.

** The art will be for sale to all our hotel guests/visitors and to people who visit our website. NYLO does not intend to profit on the sale of this artwork. Proceeds of an artwork sale will work as follows:
• 100% to NYLO until costs of the contest and acquisition are recouped
• Thereafter, 90% to the artists & 10% to a charity to be selected by NYLO

Entry & Release Form
NYLO Hotels- Drive Our Innovation through Your Passion for Art
Submit this form with your entry requirement materials to NYLO. If your artwork is selected as a “winning” piece, your entry will not be returned. Other entries will be returned by request only.
(Select all applicable entry(ies) that apply:)
o Guestroom Artwork
o Corridor Artwork
o Public Space Artwork
By signing this Entry & Release form, I acknowledge that I understand the competition criteria accompanying this form and agree to abide by them. I represent that the attached work qualifies for submission to this competition. “Authorized Parties” as used in this release means NYLO Hotels, LLC and its affiliates (“NYLO”), and any other persons, entities, or organizations that NYLO authorizes to carry out the rights or actions set forth herein. I hereby irrevocably give my consent to each of the Authorized Parties to directly or indirectly photograph, film, and /or videotape me and/or my artwork, and to quote and record statements made by me and to use, reproduce, modify, publicly display, distribute, sell, and/or create derivative works from any of the above (with or without my name) and to identify me by name and/or with school and employment information, in all forms of media now known or later developed, including, without limitation, on the Internet, for any editorial, promotional, advertising, trade, commercial, or other purpose whatsoever, in perpetuity and for no royalties or other remuneration throughout the world. I understand that the Authorized Parties shall not be responsible for unauthorized duplications, reproductions, use or modifications by third parties on the Internet or otherwise. I hereby release the Authorized Parties and their respective successors and assignees from any and all claims and/or damages that may arise regarding the dissemination, use, reproduction, display, distribution, and/or sale of my image, images of my artwork, any information related to my artwork, or statements made by or related to
me as consented to herein, including any claims of defamation, invasion of privacy, infringement of moral rights, rights of publicity, trade dress or copyright. By signing this form, I also certify that any work submitted is original and mine alone and that I have the right to grant the permissions set forth herein. I hereby agree that if my artwork is a “winning” piece, I hereby assign all right, title and copyright in and to the artwork to NYLO and agree to execute any and all additional documents requested by any of the Authorized Parties in order to fully transfer all copyright and ownership rights in the artwork to NYLO or its designee.
I have read and understand this form.

OK, so, where to start?

I can understand that a young artist just starting out might jump at the chance to have his or her artwork featured in a hip loft hotel. And if it were just a contest where they chose some paintings, hung them in their hotel, and gave the artists a cash award, then that would be fine.
And if they wanted to create reproductions of your work and gave you a percentage of sales, then that might be OK.

But. They want artists to sign over their copyright. If I interpret this correctly, if I won, I would get $2250 and they would get my painting, all rights to do whatever they want to with it, whether they identify me as the artist or not, and the right to use my image (in video and photographs), and my words however and wherever and for however long they want.

Maybe I'm being paranoid and they're great people and would never do anything mean or evil with my artwork. But they could. Or the evil corporation who buys them next year could.

They can do whatever they want. Think about it. After you get your $2250, your artwork is theirs. They could make your painting their logo and you wouldn't get anything. They could create a line of linens featuring your artwork and sell it at Macy's for $500 a pop and you wouldn't get anything. Or worse. They could print your artwork on tissue box covers and sell them at WalMart for $2 and you wouldn't get anything. Except the reputation of someone who sold out to WalMart...

And you couldn't use that image in your portfolio or on your website. They own it.

Oh, right, you get their "perks." Media exposure, your artwork on their website, a free lunch (artists *do* like food!), and they'll sell artwork for you. But that last one is a little iffy. Check out the fine print:

** The art will be for sale to all our hotel guests/visitors and to people who visit our website. NYLO does not intend to profit on the sale of this artwork. Proceeds of an artwork sale will work as follows:• 100% to NYLO until costs of the contest and acquisition are recouped
• Thereafter, 90% to the artists & 10% to a charity to be selected by NYLO

This is what gets me: "...until costs of the contest and acquisition are recouped." And when will that be, exactly? And they're setting the pricing. And what if the charity that they select is something that you're morally opposed to?

I was afraid that maybe I was interpreting this incorrectly or maybe I'm naive and this is just standard practice in the hotel industry, so I asked my friend, Robin Walker, who does a *lot* of work for hotels. She said,

When I do work for a hotel, they first pay for the originals, and they pay a royalty ranging from $3 - 5 per print for room art. For public spaces, I am paid for every original I produce (usually by commission). I NEVER convey a copyright! The reproduction rights are always mine, and that's a standard not only in the hotel business but in all art business.

She also had a few more choice words, but I'll leave that to your imagination.

So I guess my advice is just common sense - read the fine print and make sure you know what you're getting into. But I would advise artists to steer clear of these types of "contests."

I must stress that I am not a lawyer and have little knowledge of legal matters, so I apologize if I'm getting any of this wrong. I also don't intend to bash this company. They may be completely benign and truly think they're helping artists. But I think the only thing this contest does is help them get cheap artwork for their hotel.