Did I Copy Them—or Did They Copy Me?

The Red Car Phenomenon in the World of Colorful Wildlife Art

Have you ever bought a red car and then suddenly started seeing red cars everywhere? It’s like the world shifted overnight, but really, your brain just got tuned in to something new.

That’s how it feels sometimes as an artist—especially when you paint the way I do: bold, colorful wildlife animals like buffalo, bears, wolves. I use rich texture, unusual color, and a little imagination to bring these creatures to life. But now and then, I stumble across other art that looks… weirdly familiar. It makes me pause.

Did I copy them? Did they copy me? Or is this just the “red car” thing happening again?

The truth is, artists influence each other all the time, usually without even realizing it. We soak up what we see—intentionally or not—and it leaks into our own work. That doesn’t mean we’re all out here tracing each other’s paintings. It just means we’re living in the same visual world. Especially when you're working in a niche like colorful, textured wildlife painting, you start to notice others walking a similar path.

And here’s the tricky part: ideas tend to land on more than one person at a time. Creative minds often move in waves, especially when we’re all tuned in to the same trends or subject matter—like buffalo with psychedelic fur or bears painted in otherworldly blues and purples.

So if you ever wonder, “Am I original enough?” or “Did I see this idea somewhere else first?”—you’re not alone. I ask myself that too. But I’ve come to believe that our voices show through in the how, not just the what. The way we use color. The choices we make in texture. The emotion behind the animal’s eyes. That’s the fingerprint no one can duplicate.

So yes, I see a lot more “red cars” now that I’m driving one. But I didn’t choose red because someone else did. I chose it because it felt right. And if someone else is painting a neon buffalo too? Maybe they just got hit by the same bolt of inspiration.

And honestly? There’s room on the road for all of us.