Is Copying Another Artist Really So Wrong?
Imagine walking into an art class, sitting down at your easel, and having the instructor place a blank canvas in front of you. “All right, everyone. Create something!” And then the instructor walks away. Now what?
For some people, that sounds wonderful. But for many beginners, a blank canvas might as well be a brick wall. I’ve heard from students who expected to learn how to paint, only to be told to start creating before they knew which brush to pick up.
We don't expect someone to solve geometry before learning that one plus one equals two. Why should painting be different? Yet somewhere along the way, copying another artist's work developed a bad reputation. We’re told to be original and never copy. Artists certainly deserve credit and control over their work. But if copying is so wrong, why did so many great artists learn by doing exactly that?
Learning From the Masters — Century After Century
Let's go back a few hundred years, beginning with the Renaissance. In the 1400s, Leonardo da Vinci trained in Andrea del Verrocchio’s workshop. His young hands helped create art alongside experienced painters. The workshop wasn't just a place to produce paintings; it was a place to develop painters.
In the early 1500s, Raphael's training with Pietro Perugino left a visible mark. Compare their versions of The Marriage of the Virgin, both from 1504. The figures and architectural setting reflect Perugino's influence, but Raphael reworked the perspective and arrangement to make his own composition. He was learning from a model and moving beyond it.
Pietro Perugino, The Marriage of the Virgin (c. 1503–1504). Click the painting for its image source and public-domain information.
Raphael, The Marriage of the Virgin — Public-domain reproduction; click the image for source and image information.
One of the most astonishing examples comes from young Michelangelo. His earliest known painting, The Torment of Saint Anthony, dates to about 1487–1488, when he was around twelve or thirteen. And what was it based on? An engraving by Martin Schongauer. He transformed someone else's printed image into a painting, experimenting with color, landscape, and expressive details. That's not proof it was his very first painting, but what a remarkable early survival.
Martin Schongauer, Saint Anthony Tormented by Demons — Public-domain reproduction; click the image for source and image information.
Michelangelo, The Torment of Saint Anthony — Public-domain reproduction; click the image for source and image information.
The tradition didn't stop with the Renaissance. In the 1600s, Rembrandt trained artists including Gerrit Dou, who initially worked so closely in Rembrandt's manner that some early paintings have been difficult to attribute. Dou later developed the minute, polished brushwork that made him celebrated in his own right. In the 1700s, Jacques-Louis David studied under Joseph-Marie Vien before becoming an influential painter and teacher himself.
In the 1800s, Eugène Boudin encouraged the young Claude Monet to paint outdoors, teaching him to observe changing light directly from nature. Monet later helped transform landscape painting, but that important early nudge came from another painter. In the 1900s, Bob Ross learned wet-on-wet painting from Bill Alexander and brought a version of the approach to millions of viewers. Different centuries, different teachers, but a familiar pattern: watch, practice, learn, then make your own decisions.
Curious what artists do with all those lessons? Take a peek at the original paintings in the Blakely Art Collection, including work by artists I've learned from and my own creations.
Even the Masters Had to Learn
Did Leonardo understand every fold of cloth the first time he saw one? Did Raphael draw perfect figures as a child? We cannot know what all their first attempts looked like. What we can see is that artistic knowledge was passed from one person to another. Apprentices copied drawings and prints, practiced with materials, and gradually contributed to works leaving the workshop.
Verrocchio and Leonardo, The Baptism of Christ — Public-domain reproduction; click the image for source and image information.
Learning to See What You Didn't See Before
This is something I know from my own education. I began with Bob Ross and continued learning from a variety of instructors, each bringing something different to my painting.
A class with Jane Jones taught me a great deal about painting fabric. It sounds simple: it's just cloth! But the illusion of flowing fabric is built from folds, changing values, light, and shadow. Once you know what to look for, it seems obvious. When you're new, it isn't obvious at all.
Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt, Portrait of a Woman with a Lace Collar (c. 1632–1635). The Met, Open Access / CC0. Click the image to view the museum record.
I also studied portrait painting with Slawa Radziszewska at the Lakewood Cultural Center. Turning a flat surface into a convincing face involves tiny shifts of value that build cheeks, noses and eye sockets. Sometimes the lesson isn't just how to move a brush. It's learning to see something you hadn't noticed before.
Learning portrait structure and values in Slawa Radziszewska's class. Photograph from Hope Blakely's collection.
The Problem With the Blank Canvas
Think again about that beginner who has no idea where to start. If an instructor demonstrates a simple tree, the student can learn which brush to use, how much paint it needs, and how to create the branches. The first tree may not turn out. They try again. Suddenly they understand how the brush behaves.
Then something wonderful happens. Maybe they decide they'd rather put the tree on the other side. That's their own creative choice, built on a little knowledge and confidence. Small steps matter. We learn arithmetic before algebra; we can learn brush control before being asked to invent a masterpiece.
I'm Not Teaching Forgery Painters
There's something I often tell my students: “I'm not a forgery painter, and I'm not going to teach you to be one.” If you don't like where I put my tree, move yours! Add another flower, soften the clouds, or choose another color.
But here's the other half of that message: if you're not ready to make those choices yet, put the tree exactly where I put mine. That's okay, too. You came to learn. I'm there to show you how, not to demand instant originality.
With six students in my studio, we might start with the same design, brushes and colors. We never end with six identical paintings. Some people follow closely; others start experimenting. Both are learning. The goal isn't six copies of me. It's six people who feel more capable at their easels.
The Blakely Art Collection studio, set up for students to learn step by step. Photograph from Hope Blakely's collection.
Where Does Learning End and Copying Become a Problem?
There is a difference between learning a mountain-painting technique and taking credit for another artist's original composition. You might study how an instructor builds distant mountains, then use that skill in your own scene. That's growth. Closely reproducing someone else's protected painting and selling it as your own design is another matter.
Intent matters ethically, but it isn't the only legal question. Permission, the particular artwork and what you do with the copy can all matter.
What Does Copyright Law Say Today?
In the United States, copyright protection ordinarily begins automatically when an original painting is created and fixed in a tangible form. You don't have to file paperwork for basic protection. Registration with the U.S. Copyright Office offers additional legal benefits, including important advantages if someone infringes your work.
Selling a physical painting generally does not transfer the copyright in it. And copyright does not protect general ideas, subjects or brush techniques. It protects an artist's original expression.
What about educational copying? U.S. law recognizes fair use, and teaching can be one relevant purpose. But being in a class does not automatically make every use lawful. Fair use depends on several factors, including the amount copied and market effects. An instructor's permission to recreate a design in class does not necessarily include permission to sell copies or teach that same design commercially.
For a reliable starting point, read the U.S. Copyright Office's official visual artists guide: What Visual and Graphic Artists Should Know About Copyright. Eligible published two-dimensional works can also now be registered in groups under specific rules. This is general information about U.S. law, not legal advice.
Finding the Middle Ground
I don't believe “never copy anyone” or “always copy every detail” is a useful rule for every student. We should respect artists' rights while giving beginners the room to practice. Originality doesn't have to appear fully formed on day one. It grows from knowledge, experiment, mistakes and confidence.
Raphael learned before he became Raphael. Rembrandt learned before he became a teacher. And artists still learn by watching others today. First we copy the lesson. Then we understand the lesson. Eventually, we use that knowledge to create something of our own.
Until next time, happy painting!
— Hope Blakely, Blakely Art Collection
See It in Practice
One of my favorite moments in teaching is seeing six different interpretations of the same demonstration. Whether you follow every step or start making the painting your own, you're learning. Explore upcoming classes and original artwork at Blakely Art Collection.
Curious to Learn More?
Perugino and Raphael, The Marriage of the Virgin — Pinacoteca di Brera: https://pinacotecabrera.org/en/news/mostra/perugino-and-raphael-the-marriage-of-the-virgin-a-dialogue-between-the-master-and-the-pupil/
Michelangelo, The Torment of Saint Anthony — Kimbell Art Museum: https://kimbellart.org/collection/ap-200901
Leonardo and Verrocchio, The Baptism of Christ — Uffizi Galleries: https://www.uffizi.it/en/artworks/verrocchio-leonardo-baptism-of-christ
Copying paintings — National Gallery, London: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/visiting/plan-your-visit/copying-paintings-in-the-national-gallery-collection
Fair Use — U.S. Copyright Office: https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/
Group Registration of Two-Dimensional Artwork — U.S. Copyright Office: https://www.copyright.gov/registration/gr2d/
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