T-shirt maker admits artistic plagiarism

CLEARWATER, Fla., May 8 (UPI) -- A Florida T-shirt designer famous for his originality has admitted plagiarizing two paintings.

While Todd Goldman has reportedly reached a settlement with cartoonist David Kelly, the flap, magnified by the Internet, could be costly to his business. Art dealer Jack Solomon of the S2 Art Group in Las Vegas, told the St. Petersburg Times the three largest poster distributors in the United States have canceled orders and many galleries are now refusing to show Goldman's paintings.

The two paintings in question show animals that could be either kittens or squirrels with balloons over their heads saying "Dear God, please make everyone die." The ironic image is in keeping with Goldman's T-shirt line.

After Kelly denounced Goldman as a plagiarist in March, others began going through his work, finding one image that appeared to be lifted from an old piece of computer clip art and another from an out-of print children's spelling book.

But the people who bought the two Goldman paintings appear to be satisfied customers. Solomon said both refused to give up the paintings in return for their money back, with one saying that the public fuss has only made it more valuable.