Artist Reply: Tina, This was a different golden. In fact, I've created several paintings with goldens and all the dogs were different. I like painting the goldens in family settings because they're so very popular and for a good reason...they're probably the most gentle dogs out there, especially around kids.

Artist Reply: Any artist who has their work published in ANY form should ALWAYS maintain ownership of the copyright to the image, even if it's a commissioned work. Licensing it to companies to put on products only gives them the right to use the image on it's product(s) for a specific period of time. A particular image can be made available on a myriad of different products from which the artist receives royalties or one time payments while still maintaining ownership of the copyright.

Artist Reply: Bianca, What I failed to put in my post was "from which the artist receives royalties OR a one time or flat usage fee". The problem with giving up your copyright is that you no longer have any rights to the image EVER. I have particular images that have been providing royalties for over 10 years through a number of company products. That is well over the $2,000 one time fee you mentioned for selling the copyright. A good image is like a hit song. It never gets "old" or "tired" and it can provide the author(s) royalty income for the rest of their lives and beyond. Unless I was offered a substantial amount of money, I would never relinquish any of my image copyrights. Of course, creating fine art paintings are much different than creating photos. A good photographer is able to create works much faster than someone like myself who can spend up to a month on a painting. So someone who's prolific as you obviously are, can create far more works than I. It would take me 50 lifetimes to create 10,000 images. Lastly, reputable (and I stress reputable) companies, which most certainly are, are not in the business of ripping off artists for their royalties. Artists look out for each other and the word spreads very quickly so it wouldn't take long for the word to get around. The penalties for such practices are also severe and any company that practices such behavior is either in dire straits or won't be in business long anyway. Of course, as with any industry, there are "low life's" so don't get me wrong. No one ever said it's a perfect world.

Artist Reply: Well, a belated Merry Christmas and current Happy Easter to you, Olga!