0. WHAT IS GOOGLE STREET VIEW and how do I use it?
When you are looking at a Google Map, you will notice (in the upper left just below the Direction indicator) a little YELLOW GUY is just waiting for you to drag and drop him somewhere to give you a Panoramic View. If Google's fleet of trucks has been there, you can go there too.
Here's a little video that might help:
1. WHAT DOES GOOGLE SAY ABOUT USING THEIR IMAGES?
The following is a quote from the ORIGINAL VIRTUAL PAINT OUT
. . . it has been determined that artists can use images from Google Street View as reference for creating paintings and drawings, and the artists can sell these works. HOWEVER If the artist shows an original view on which a painting is based, i.e. the original screenshot, make sure to keep the Google logo and copyright visible on that screenshot. No logos or mention of Google is necessary on your art itself.
2. WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?
Because I participated and submitted a painting to The VirtualPaintOut (Sept.10 - Manhattan Island) and it was fun to find and paint the spot, but more fun to see it posted on the website. Then, just hours after my painting was posted, there was another artist who had used a nearly exact view that I had found, and it was fascinating to see what someone else did with the same view and a different medium, a different eye.
Soon after however I was a little let down. That was it. I mean the exercise was fun, and I can't wait until next month to submit another one, but still it felt like it would have been more fun had there been some sort of "winner" or something. Even if there was no prize. Just to be able to link to it and say "I won something" (not that I was ever going to win against the competition there ;) but for anyone. If there are really starving artists out there, maybe it would be more fun if there was something "in" it for them.
3. HOW ARE YOU DOING THIS?
Well first of all it must be said that I am NOT a Starving Artist. You can visit KayZahn.com for more than you need to know about me, but suffice it to say, my husband and I built a small company that provides us a nice living and we have more time as we age (so gracefully ;) to do other things. AND since I do get advertising revenue from the monetization of the site, offering a little prize every month isn't going to break the bank.
