Write to your representatives
by Coulter Watt, Quakertown, PA, USA
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The Builder
oil painting
artwork by Coulter Watt

This is indeed legislation for all artists to take political action on. It's vital that every US artist contact their Congressmen and Senators regarding this ill-conceived bill. The squeaky wheel gets the oil and numbers count. So I encourage everyone to write their representatives and tell them that the proposed Orphan Works Act puts their livelihood in jeopardy. The Orphan Works Act of 2006: Bill Number: H.R. 5439, is sponsored by Rep. Lamar Smith (Republican, Texas), chair of the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property. (RG note) Thanks, Coulter. So many artists wrote to ask what they can do about this. The answer is... Continued >

A good kind of kalopsia
by Jada Rowland, UK
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Church across the street
oil painting
artwork by Jada Rowland

When it comes to subject matter I may 'suffer' from kalopsia. I became aware of this when my husband wanted to see the location of a particular plein air piece of mine. When we got to the site, a sort of urban 'meadow' in the midst of Cambridge, UK, he took one look and said he would never have seen the beauty in the place. I had seen the beauty and replicated it in my painting. This kind of kalopsia is, I believe, an important part of the artist's right to select what belongs in a particular piece of art. It isn't so much that I don't see what is 'unattractive' but, rather, that I see the beauty which most people miss; a good kind of kalopsia... Continued >