Blog / 2014 / Understanding Fear
June 5, 2014
The images below are how you can be sure that I know what I’m talking about in this video. A few months ago I discovered that Adrienne Lewis, someone who was a few years behind me in college, was copying my style. When I wrote positively about her imitation, she denied that she had been looking at my art and the many tutorials on my blog.
Even though her copying is not a violation of copyright law, it’s adjacent to it, and her lie caused me to experience all three kinds of fears that I describe in my vlog today. There are few things so demoralizing as interacting with a person who doesn’t tell the truth.
While I’d love for Lewis to show me how her style evolved if it wasn’t by copying me, all I can do is trace the source of my fears and focus on getting over them. I can accept the compliment that it is to be imitated, and I can concentrate on building better relationships with an ever larger audience. I can educate artists about how to know when you’ve copied too much, and I can work on my self-confidence.
UPDATE
November 17, 2014
I have come to a kind of peace with Lewis’ imitation of my style. This video explains how.
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