Lesson 8: Getting Permission and Dealing with Rejection

Lesson 8: Getting Permission and Dealing with Rejection
By © Melissa Olivero; Cathy Poage; Terri Hopkin 2005

Sadly we have yet to find a magic formula that can be used to persuade every artist to say yes when we ask for permission, it would be wonderful if there was, but unfortunately that is just not the case.

Mel’s Permission Story:

The first time I asked an artist for permission to use his work -- I was turned down. It was before I learned how to ask ... Just so you know. Someone asked me if I could create something as a challenge -- The Legend of the White Buffalo Woman. Well, I couldn't meet the challenge as I had made the switch and the only piece of art I liked was by John Guthrie who does Native American paintings. He turned me down with a short but to the point: "No, thank you.".

You know what? I said: Oh well. In the big picture... This part of what I do is just a hobby. If someone says no, then I move on and do something else. I was briefly disappointed and then I got over it. There are hundreds of thousands of artists, both established and new to the art world like us. Someone else will say yes.

The very next person I asked, Tom Cross, did say Yes. I was so proud!!! I absolutely love his work -- such a big fan that I purchased one of his small prints. I was and still am very happy to be allowed to share his work in this medium. It made me feel good that he liked my sample work enough to trust me with his art.

I will tell you that I haven't approached anyone else. I do have a folder in my "favorites" of artists I've stumbled upon and want to request permission, but I am too busy learning how to create my own artwork to stop to do that. I have only made three stats so far with Tom Cross's work and I want to work with his art first before moving on to someone else. It will never be about quantity to me. I am not in competition with anyone to see how many permissions I can get. My only care is that what I do create shows off the work to my best ability. That is just me though. I have not many any tags using his work as I didn't include that in my permission request.

Permission Requests:

So what should be in your permission request letter? First, stop and think for a minute about what you intend to do with the art? Are you thinking of framing, tubing, adding animation to it? Is it for your own personal use or do you want to ask permission for a Group Share? All of these factors come into the wording of your letter, but there are three important points your letter must make:

1. You will NEVER use it for commercial purposes.
2. You will link back to the artist's website.
3. You will watermark the images if they aren't already

Detailed below is the letter Mel used when writing to Tom Cross, as we already know, it worked, he said yes. You are welcome to use this as a guideline and create one for yourself from it, but please try and put it into your own words. LOL! If you were the artist, just think how boring it would be if everyone who wrote to you for permission did so using the exact same wording, the exact same punctuation, it would be very tedious, wouldn’t it?

Mel sent this letter using an IncrediMail Letter she had made using her own photography.

<<Mr. Cross,

I am a creator of email stationery like this one I am writing to you on. I was viewing your artwork at http://tomcross-artist.com. I am just in awe of your talent. Everything is so beautiful!

In my work, I have only use my own images, graphics I have permission to use or those that I have purchased on a cd. As I respect artist rights, I would like to request permission to use your art to create my email stationery. I do not now nor do I ever intend to sell my stationery that I use images other than my own. This is a hobby for me. I create using other people's artwork strictly for non-commercial use. I was just amazed and decided to be brave and ask. *smiles*

Please note that the image on the stationery is watermarked with my name/logo and credit is given in the footer as well as a link. If use of your images is allowed for, I will link back to http://tomcross-artist.com on the stationary. I will also watermark any image that doesn't have a readable signature with your name.

I want to thank you in advance for your consideration of my proposal and I anxiously await your response. >>

How to Find Artists:

So where and how do you find good artists? How did Mel find Tom Cross? She found him literally by surfing the web. Try visiting your favorite search engine (Google & Yahoo are good places to start), and run a search for a particular genre; artist; photographer; gallery, etc. Once you find one site you like look for weblinks and start hopping. .

You can also visit artist webrings and surf from there. Start here: http://www.ringsurf.com/Arts_and_Humanities/Artists/ or perhaps do a search for your favorite type of art here: http://www.webring.com/

Benefits for the Artists:

There are benefits for the artists to allow us to use their work -- especially new artists. Exposure! Would Mel have ever purchased her print from Tom Cross if she didn't want to use his work? You are not obligated in any way, to invest in the artist’s work, but here is a thought . . . . . Your creations with the art might introduce a potential client to the artist, you never know they may just may click on your link and purchase from the artist!

Asking permission is not difficult, just remember the very worst thing that can happen is the artist may say no, then you just accept it and move on to the next artist. We guarantee that someone will grant you permission and you will be so happy and proud. Just ask -- you and the artist both benefit and you get to create the same beautiful work without stealing.

The Right To Say No:

It is every artist’s right to say NO, that they would rather you didn't use their art in this way, please respect that. We have learned in our earlier Lesson’s that there are many reasons why an artist may not be in a position to grant you permission, for all you know it could be a contractual agreement that legally prevents him from giving permission, so please do not take a rejection personally.

Artists Who Have Said No:

There are a few lists floating around of artists that have already said -- absolutely no and they would prefer that you refrain from asking. The best place to go to for this list is here:
http://groups.msn.com/dmatawards/copyrights.msnw This MSN group along with the Safe Tube Project (http://groups.msn.com/Safetubeproject) are web groups that we recommend you check out. These groups are fighting for the same thing we are... and strive to be totally legal.

One More Thing:

Before we leave you... let us share this thought... this is not a requirement but we suggest you find your own artists. There are plenty of people using the works of Penny, Jim, Johanna, etc. Beverly Lu and Jody Bergsma are another two... they all have more than one creator using their works for stationery. Let those creators keep those artists for themselves.

As well as keeping this legal -- make it an exciting challenge to find new, emerging artists to work with... help make someone new famous for sharing pieces of themselves with the world. Explore a place like http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/elfwood.html (Elfwood) or www.webshots.com -- find an artist or photographer you like and send them your request letter. You never know what may come of it.