IMPORTANT:  Some of the opinions expressed on this page may be of a political nature and should be recognized as such. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Peachland Community Arts Council.

Beach Buddies - Louise Lambert

Louise Lambert's Beach Buddies and an artist's rights to reproduction

Hampton Group, a Kelowna company specializing in landscaping and pool designs, asked local artist, Louise Lambert, to permit their using one of her artworks, Beach Buddies, as an exterior image to draw attention to and set the theme for their new design centre at 2589 Benvoulin Road in Kelowna.

Beach Buddies was painted from an actual private home in West Kelowna, facing the Kelowna side.  The original 16" by 40" was created by actually using Okanagan beach sand specially adhered to the canvas and then painted over with multiple layers of acrylic paint to provide real texture and illumination, a task of many hours duration.

The larger image has become a definite traffic stopper. Beach Buddies captures the essence of summer relaxation.  You can just imagine, sitting down with your buddies and enjoying the ambience of the Okanagan Valley.  Several people have been photographed with the colourful artwork, depicting the Muskoka Chairs and Okanagan Lake.   Louise has been told by Hampton Group that passers by have stopped their cars to have their pictures taken with the chairs, even some promising vocal singers. She just hopes those vocalists also provide credit to the artist if they reproduce their images on their CD covers and in any public relations advertising.

Louise brings up a moot point and reminds artists that most people don't recognize that an artist holds the copyright to his/her artwork even after they sell the original piece of art. Those copyrights are an asset as well as a form of revenue.  Not only should permission be sought to reproduce the art (in any form) but compensation should be provided if that work is used for commercial purposes. This holds true for images of art displayed on the Internet (Flickr, Picasso or commercial websites, etc.). Permission to reproduce art of any kind is legally required and many people overlook that fact. They ignore the amount of hours and material costs that have gone into creating those works of art. Copyright resources are very necessary to supplement and preserve an artist's income.

The response to Beach Buddies has been overwhelming and so Wine Country Studios, Louise’s workshop and gallery, has created limited edition giclees, in 16" by 40" size, as well as a small tourist size of 9" by 22". Over 80 have sold to date.

Beach Buddies is available at Alexis Gallery, The Cove, Lakeside Resort, Wine Country Studios, Naramata Inn and Spa,  and Picture Perfect.

2011 Legislative Session: Fourth Session, 39th Parliament
DEBATES OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
(HANSARD)

COMMITTEE A BLUES
THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012
AfternoonSitting
PROCEEDINGS IN THE
DOUGLAS FIR ROOM
Committee of Supply