WayneBenedet

It is with some regret that I have had to put watermarks on all of my images. The reason for this change is that in the last month my work has been taken three times, and in one unresolved situation, it is being sold on another site.

This was a bit of a difficult decision to come to because I know that some of my watchers do not like watermarks. And neither do I. However, almost all of the pieces in my gallery have been sold or donated to charity as signed originals with the understanding that there is only one copy made and it is the original. To allow my work to be taken from Deviant Art and sold elsewhere, somewhat undermines that trust relationship with my customers and the organizations a regularly donate to. At this point none of them have complained, and perhaps are not aware that the images have been taken and are being offered for sale. Perhaps the only silver lining is that the images being taken are small and cannot be enlarged very much AND they are unsigned, and therefore not original. However, having thought about this for a bit, I think it is necessary to take steps to protect the investment that my customers have made. Not doing so will simply lower the value of my work, and potentially drive customers away and reduce the amount that charities are able to raise.

So... my apology to my watchers. If you choose not to watch or favourite my work any longer, I understand, although the favourites you give help me to decide I which images are made into canvas prints, signed, displayed in the shows and are sold or donated to charity.

Just a short update:

The Site where the work was posted is called OpenSea. They have removed my work.

I appreciate all of you who have responded. One of the things I am contemplating is to post without a watermark, and leave it that way for about a week. This will give many of you the option of viewing the work as usual. After a short period I will add a watermark. If yoiu have any other comments or ideas, please feel free to respond again.