# @stevedmcdonald on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DLlo8RksLxG
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/63359726-stevedmcdonald-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/7bafc11958.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-07-02T02:09:41.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Steve McDonald 🎨📚 (@stevedmcdonald) — https://gondola.cc/stevedmcdonald

## Caption

'Think About It' 

As an artist, I’ve always loved how influence flows...messy, magical, and unavoidable. From cave walls to canvases to code, we’ve always borrowed, riffed, and echoed. That’s how art evolves. So when I see someone online claiming ownership over a “style” like it’s the last slice of pizza, I smile (and maybe roll my eyes a bit). That's what some folks want - to 'own' their style...

Copyright? Good intentions at first. But now? It’s a fence around the wild garden of creativity. The more rigid it gets, the less we all grow. Style, technique, feel - these aren’t things you can (or should) lock away.

Enter AI, the latest scapegoat in the age-old “you stole my vibe” panic. But these tools? They’re just that, tools. Like brushes or Photoshop. They remix, emulate, interpret...like every artist ever has. Critics cry theft, but the courts keep ruling otherwise. Fair use holds. The sky’s not falling.

What’s really happening? Legacy media (Disney, NYT, Universal) is battling the new platforms (MidJourney, OpenArt, SD). The old guard wants tighter control, more locks, more tolls. They’ve even convinced some artists to fight for them! (which is just funny). 

Last week, Anthropic and Meta won landmark rulings: training on copyrighted works without permission? Not illegal. As I’ve said all along...you don’t need permission to study, emulate, and remix. That’s how art grows. Even if it’s my work. Even if it’s yours.

Why side with the gatekeepers who hoard the keys? Real creatives should stand with openness, experimentation, access. That’s how art lives. Fair Use. 

So think about it. Look deeper. Don’t echo the loudest voice. Study the issue. Ask who benefits. Then ask again.

That’s what artists do.

#imagecrafting #aiart #creativityhasnocopyright #openart #visualfreedom #newtoolsoldsoul #digitalrenaissance #fairuse #artistrights #influenceisnottheft #stevemcdonaldart

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
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## Tags

stevemcdonaldart, creativityhasnocopyright, newtoolsoldsoul, fairuse, influenceisnottheft, artistrights, digitalrenaissance, openart, aiart, imagecrafting, visualfreedom

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