The Chinese paintings that are being produced are indeed in many James Joyce Sketch
watercolour painting cases of a very high standard and the fact that they are not produced by "names" matters little in the commercial marketplace. The abstract paintings that they produce are particularly good and are original and not prints in many cases. However, where they do score really high is on price. A local furniture chain where I live told me recently that he had a container load of Chinese paintings on the high seas that he was able to purchase in the region of $40.00 each for 1.5 meter square paintings. We cannot even buy the canvasses for that price. His customers that will buy these paintings in most cases really only need to cover walls cheaply. For the "names" locally to compete we must be extremely flexible in our output and aggressive in our marketing. Chinese imports are here to stay. Two local galleries closed around here in the last 12 months. The effect is huge.

I used book tables in Christmas fairs at places Rosalie and Leonora
watercolour portrait painting like the New York Junior League to present my children's watercolor portraits. At the last one I attended, I was horrified to see a local woman representing a sort of portrait painting factory in Shanghai. Some of the sample paintings on display were pretty competent. They charged 700 dollars for an oil painting done from a photograph, and the customers weren't obliged to purchase or pay for the painting if they didn't like the result. I paint from life, charge 1800 dollars for a watercolor portrait, and ask for 600 upfront. I never thought that I could be a victim of outsourcing, but even at this high-end event, people didn't seem to appreciate the difference in our "products."

The situation is a lot like the Wal-Mart phenomenon. Many Aqua Rings
abstract digital artwork manufacturers and retailers in the U.S. have gone out of business because they cannot compete with Wal-Mart products manufactured by "slaves" working for 50 cents a day in a country that has no environmental regulations or tax structure like the U.S. Innovative and high quality U.S. products will always be around, but the lower end and the middle portion of manufacturing has gone to China. This situation is ruining our country with lost jobs and growing foreign ownership of American assets. The same phenomenon affects artists. Only the innovative and "collectable" artists can flourish under such circumstances. This means fewer professional artists supporting themselves in our country. Like the Wal-Mart shoppers, the standard of acceptability for artwork among the general public is dropping. Many artists, despite the "DNA" in their work, do have to worry; they now have to get a day job to support themselves. A culture is led by artists who have a vision and create the future look and feel of society through their art: painting, sculpture, music, dance, theater, architecture, poetry and other art forms. A decline in the number of free artists in a society is a decline in the society itself. We should do whatever we can to promote, help and protect our artists. I recently joined a group of artists in my area with just that purpose called Artists in Action International . Readers are welcome to join or should consider starting their own groups with similar goals.

I respectfully disagree that cheap knock-offs are not cutting Tuscan Field
oil painting on canvas
12 x 12 inches into the bottom line of hard-working professional artists in the West. I'm represented by five galleries, and all five are feeling the double whammy of our economic turndown and incredibly cheap competition. Galleries are closing left and right here in one of this country's most upscale locales (Naples, Florida). I absolutely agree that among the art collecting cognoscenti who seek the work of top-tier "knowns," knock-offs will never make any inroads, for the very reasons you outlined. And many collectors up and down the scale do still value the "human relationship" in the art they purchase. But for the majority of us who are also often collected by people who simply want something that appeals to them--or, heaven forbid that matches their sofa--the cheap competition is being felt. In my pre-gallery days, I did a very large, well patronized show in an upscale North Carolina venue. The knock-offs somehow were there too, and those $200 30' x 40's - "Frame included!" - were just flying out of there. I had a pretty good show anyway, but imagine if that competition hadn't been there?

Those that buy and hang factory art and clones in their house
original abstract painting are not our customers. They only degrade their homes and signal to others that they know nothing of art and have simply shown that fact to their guests. Here in Denmark there is an art factory, turning out art for supermarkets and furniture stores. I've never experienced any form of rivalry because those that buy this kind of art never go near a gallery or bother to learn how to see real art. Let them buy whatever they like. I sell art, they buy junk.

I was one of those artists copied back in 2006. I just returned Cottonwood Pond
watercolour painting
30 x 40 inches from China three weeks ago, and while I was there looked in on several galleries where art was produced and sold or had collections of paintings from numerous gallery artists. What I saw there but did not realize at first was I was seeing the same paintings in several different parts of the country. All were copies of the same traditional works or had the same recurring themes. The other pieces of original work were mostly inferior lacking one or more of the essential elements of good paintings - the values, composition, the color temperatures. In all I think that there were probably only about 3-4 that I felt were really good paintings and only one that stood out like a beacon when compared to the rest. The outstanding piece was a non-objective landscape. Now I do not know if it was a copy of someone else's work or not. All I know is that the artist captured something that as artists we all would like to see in our work. At this point in time I don't feel that we Western artists have too much to fear as long as we continue to maintain our high standards and only put up works for sale - works of art that meet or exceed these standards. Look with a very critical eye at a piece of art and only if it is very good, put it out there. If it is not then maybe it should stay in the studio until it meets those requirements. The Chinese are outstanding at copying so remember it takes that DNA of that artist to impose those subtle elements into a painting that are hard to copy if you're not inspired by the original thought.

(RG note) Thanks, Rich. You might also consider the possibility that the academically trained Chinese painters may produce better work than the average Westerner who paints with "soul." The downside of Western democratization is that anyone who wants to call himself a painter can do so—with the result that quality suffers in the West as well. For the most part the Chinese system is based on high quality technical training and the careful selection of young people with significant talent.

The "copy art" phenomenon is another reminder that we, as visual Midway Afternoon, Centre County Grange Fair
oil painting on canvas panel artists, need to give of ourselves and our personalities to the general public and our clientele. That doesn't mean that every visual artist needs to be extroverted and magnetic but, whatever we have, we need to share. That realness of the artist as an individual human being, each with our own place in our community and in history, is what sets us apart from anonymous copycat artists. The sad thing is that some of these Chinese factory artists may, if their creative potential matches their technical skill, have the ability to be artists in every sense of the word. They are just in a much tougher circumstance than those of us in the western industrialized world as far as being able to build an art career. It might seem hard for artists here, too, at times, but I think this is a fitting season to count our blessings in living in this time and place. May the New Year be a fulfilling and profitable one for us all!

While we blame some unscrupulous Chinese in their quest for Western Bright Daisies
watercolour painting
5 x 7 inches riches, we should stop and think about our own greed. We send our dirty factory work over there so we can sell and buy goods more cheaply. But the underdogs have learnt a few tricks of their own, now they are copying us! They are so greedy they will sell anything in order to gain a profit... even shoddy stuff. The only way this can be solved is politically. Educating the Western art collector isn't going to do it... a good piece of art is a good piece of art regardless of the signature. We have to lobby politicians to force the Chinese government to increase the valuation of the yuan. Jobs are being lost and factories are closing all over the world because of the influx of cheap goods made in China. The only thing we have going for us so far is that most of those goods appear to be inferior. Factories here are closing and our artists are beginning to starve.

Your letter about China clones and copies brought to my mind a strong feeling I have about prints of paintings, giclee or otherwise. I don't see any difference between those and what you are writing about in your letter. They are copies and not done by the artist. Yes, they allow people to enjoy paintings who otherwise could not afford an original. But I don't see any difference between those and calendar art. The giclee copies are so good that I often can't tell the difference between them and the originals, but still I feel a little cheated when I find out a painting I like is just a copy. It's similar to a very well done artificial plant or flower. At first it looks so real, but on closer inspection you can see it's just plastic. They even add wilted leaves or flowers to foster the illusion. I love a living, breathing plant, not plastic. True prints are certainly a different matter. Lithographs, woodblock prints, etc. are done by the artist or personal assistant and the run is limited. Photocopying can reproduce the image perfectly forever and the artist never does a thing. I have never talked with anyone who dislikes prints as much as I do!

I am a fine artist and a business man doing advertising at the same time living in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. 140 different nationalities live peacefully here. It is a Muslim country ruled by wise and educated rulers. I am from India living with my family for the last 30 years. Dubai is the world's fastest growing city and will be the next Las Vegas soon. Art is in good demand as many luxury properties and hotels are ready or coming up. We have some good art galleries here. Many Chinese copies are also available. There is an art village in southern China near the Hong Kong border where 5000 artists work as daily laborers. The cheap art originates there. There in one company sending about 80,000 paintings per month all over the world including America and Canada. The average salary of a skilled artist is about 3 dollars per day (10 working hours). This is why they can beat every other on price. The oil paint they use is also very cheap and often of low quality. Some European wholesale art dealers are buying their art from them and sell them at 20 times more prices. Who is to blame, first of all the actual buyers, then the wholesalers and retailers who shamelessly encourage these Chinese art factories. If the respective art dealers and end users stop buying these imitations the inflow will automatically reduce if not stop completely. Most of the art publisher's works are copied by these Chinese companies as the images are easily available on their web sites. In my opinion the actual original creator of the work must be suitably rewarded.

We cannot wave a magic wand, no matter how just it would be, and get Night Watch
oil painting, commissioned in 1642
by Rembrandt rid of those who would profit by another's honest art. We can affirm that the act of art is in the making, the communication to the viewer, the dialogue with the viewer. It is sort of a two-phase process: we dialogue with the paint, paper, canvas, stone etc. and in turn dialogue with the viewers. Yes, I'll line up with the rest to see the Mona Lisa and know that fakes are fakes. I remember fondly waiting in line at the Chicago Art Institute to view the Monet show, then inching slowly by each one in a thick pea-soup crowd. While I would love to spend an hour in front of each, I gladly took my place in that crowd. Over 40 years ago, I did my part as a tourist in Amsterdam before Rembrandts. All these years later, viewing them remains a highlight of my life. No print, no copy, no image in an art book can replace the impact of suddenly being in front of the huge canvas of the Night Watch.

Robert's latest book, Love Letters to Art , arrived in my home this week, The Offering
acrylic painting
10 x 8 inches and it is absolutely beautiful! It's an exquisite collection of Master Artist Robert Genn's paintings and letters, based on the more than 600 he has written about art, the artistic process and artists, to his international readership. The selection of paintings, which spans several decades, exemplifies the depth of Genn's extraordinary accomplishments. What touches me most deeply about his work is his ability to enter the viewer's sacred place, where awe, rapture, and tenderness reside. Experiencing his work, I frequently feel a tear of joy running down my cheek. The book is truly a reflection of Genn's intentional creation of life, that life is art and art is life. As he wrote in Postscript, "We are a work of art in progress. The end is never attained, nor is perfection found. Like the mountains, we are in a state of evolution."

(RG note) Thanks, Teresa. And thanks to everyone who has written unsolicited book reviews, some terse, some lengthy. This is one of the nicest.