ThanX to the Art Thieves

Having your artwork stolen and claimed to be the property of someone else leaves you with a feeling that is difficult to eXplain.

Not only do you feel taken advantage of, but you also feel downright abused. Your often hard work in creating an image has been rendered worthless by the thieves, as they benefit from your creations both socially and financially.

I often refer to the thefts as feeling like I've been raped. I know this is a horrible analogy, and somone who has actually been raped would likely have a lot to say about it, but it really best describes MY feelings after being ripped off relentlessly in this way.

So how could I possibly have thanX in my heart for these people?

Well, firstly because it's given me some much needed incentive, and secondly because it's boosted my confidence about my own artistic abilities.

INCENTIVE:

Really, I was FORCED to take down my public artwork from the Deep Dream Generator. I had no choice. Either I could leave it all there unprotected and wait for the neXt thief to eXploit it, (and believe me, they WILL), or I could take it down in an attempt to keep it for myself. I opted or the latter, and so did many other artists on the site.

I knew if I left things as they were, I would have no one else to blame but myself the neXt time I was artistically 'raped', and I just didn't want to go through it all again, at least not without at least trying to protect my work.

I removed my gallery and kept publishing limited pieces at DDG, but now they had my signature watermarked on them. Sure, the thieves could probably figure out a way to remove my signature, or crop it out, but that would take work on their part, and that's something I don't think these people are actually looking to do. Plus, the images I am uploading at DDG are not the original high resolution renders, so that in itself is another protection.

Of course I still want to display my work, and the evolution it is taking over time, so I created this website, something that may have never happened without the stolen artwork, so THANK YOU, THIEVES!

A BOOST IN CONFIDENCE:

The Deep Dream Generator has some AMAZING artists. These are people who consistantly pump out images that can instantly stop you from scrolling so you can scrutinize the piece and go, "wow"! Don't be fooled, it's not necessarily the folks that get the most likes, (though many of them do), but rather the people who have an amazing 'eye for art', which really shows up in their work. One can't help but to be in awe of these folks and their artwork.

When I was visiting the pages of the thieves, where they were eXpoiting the stolen artwork, I noticed that they too seemed to have a great eye for art! The images they were trying to sell were, in my opinion, from the best artists at DDG, and I was apparently one of them!

Even though one woman had over 25 of my pieces up for grabs, there was a small part of me that felt somewhat honored that she had grouped my pictures in with such MASTERPIECES by others. In a weird way, it was a real compliment, and also a boost in confidence, so again THANK YOU THIEVES!

CONCLUSION:

Of course it was devastating having my artwork stolen in such a way, but even such a negative thing can sometimes bring positive results. I try to be one of those 'always look at the bright side' kind of people, so when I really thought it all over, I realised it wasn't the end of the world and life would surely go on.

Sometimes it's difficult trying to remain positive in a world that's filled with people that are creepy as hell, but I, for one, will continue to do so if at all possible!

Keep on creating!

"X"

June 23. 2023