When I decided to start adding art to posts, it was originally because I wanted to be blog- and Facebook-friendly (thumbnails!) while using stuff that is totally in the public domain. Since then I’ve been getting a lot of questions about where it all comes from.
Pretty much one place: Wikimedia Commons.
It’s a treasure trove of basically everything amazing that has ever been painted. Warning: Clicking around and going hunting for art can result in many lost afternoons.
There you have it!
Art: Train in the Snow by Claude Monet
It's a great site.
Monet is one of my favourite artists. Adding photos to your posts make them more open, break up the text and give us a visual to look at. Easy on the eyes.
I like your choices, which seems to weigh heavier on the Dutch side of painting at times. Since that snafu with the blogger being charged at using a photom, I've use Public Domain photos only, along with my own.
Do keep adding photos, it's one of the first things I noticed when I first followed your blog.
Good to know about. Thanks, Nathan.
Oh, no… another place on the Internets to waste time. 🙂 I will admit, it's cooler than Google images.
THANK YOU. I feel like I should have known about this, but I didn't, and I will definitely be using it. Thanks, Nathan; you're a rockstar.
Thanks Nathan!
Please contact me at 12 midnight and retreive me from the matrix. I may not come willingly.
Spike
Even though material in the Commons may be "freely reused," it might come with some obligations or requirements. Users would do well to consult this page first:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Reusing_content_outside_Wikimedia
God, that train scene is evocative. Gives me the shivers.
Nathan, thank you so much for telling us about this. What a treasure trove. I LOVE the images of paintings.
You have no idea how long I've been looking for a site like that. Thanks so much for sharing it!
Thank you!
I love Wikimedia Commons! I used them to make book covers for a sample series I did on Public Domain books and book trailers. https://224pages.com
I also used images they had of Lucille Ball for a blog post I did on why branding is important to authors. It got a lot of laughs. https://www.karenachase.com/2012/11/lucy-inside-and-out/
I have been wondering for long.
Thanks for the info.
Srini
This is great, thanks for posting this. Been blogging for years and had no idea …
"Stuff that is totally in the public domain." Then it's safe, yeah, I copied the link.
Albeit, Bransford, YOU were responsible for my stealing sandwiches (bandwith?) paranoia.
Thanks for this awesome tip.
Sheila Cull
I use wiki commons and a few others that are public domain…or places that I know are free and safe to use without getting sued.
But all bloggers, please vet all photos before you post them. The rule is that if you aren't sure then just don't post it. If you have any photos up you aren't sure about, take them down. There is no law that states anyone has to send you a take down notice first. They can sue at any time.
I love your photos, Nathan. Always tasteful!!
As a librarian who often has to deal with issues of copyright and fair use, I'm always glad to see you use public domain or open use pictures!
Very cool. Thanks so much for sharing it! I'm passing the word along to other writers!
Awesome tip. I never knew about this site. Thanks so much.
I used to use Wikimedia Commons a lot for articles, and still recommend it as a source for essay and presentation images to my current and former students. I agree with some other posters, though, that it's important to pay really close attention to both the provided copyright information and the sources of the image. In at least a few cases with students, for example, they found images that were listed in the public domain by the poster, but they were derivations of other pieces that weren't. It's super important to check the details and origins of work to make sure it's really, really, really okay to use!
That is wonderful. I love the art on your posts. I use the creative commons searches (typically through Flickr) myself, but I do love the paintings I get to see through your site.