Thanks for the advice. I guess I am going to go for it.

I have to disagree. You will be violating the copyright by creating your own image of someone else's print. You are copying his work! If you were just painting the paint-by-the-numbers, which was presumably authorized by the copyright holder, you would not be violating copyright.

Now, will you be "caught"? Made to compensate? Probably not. But it is still copying, and that is what copyright protects against. The issue of whether it's for personal use or for profit does not change the fact that you are making an unauthorized copy of someone else's original work.

Technically correct. Again technically, what you're doing is making a copy of a COPY of someone's work.

However, since Norman Rockwell's been deceased awhile and his paintings are at least 50 years old and older, there is a good chance that the copyright on the particular paintings you have are not enforceable. Many Norman Rockwell paintings are in the public domain, and are no longer protected by copyright laws. Also, everything painted before 1923 is in fact in the public domain.

Rather than spell it all out here, here's a good source to read about this specific question --

http://www.best-norman-rockwell-art.com/copyright.html

if you break the copyright rules-get caught and get that HUGE FINE you won't think they are taken so...seriously- you will realize they are serious! copyright infringment is a HUGE DEAL and can cost a person thousands of dollars.

Yep and the copyright police are hiding in your closet! It is for personal use.....you are not selling it or making any money from it. You know, I learned a long time ago to just do what I want for personal use, especially if it is from something that I paid money for, and not say anything about it on this forum because these are they types of answers you will always get. Some things you just can't share, unfortunately. I hope you good luck with your project!

I'm glad you made this point, Dunster.

I occasionally get questions from customers asking what they may or may not do with the fabric they purchased... and, being just a retailer, obviously I don't hold any copyrights.

One question I will share here because it illustrates the point you're making. The person wanted to know if they could use fabric to make greeting cards which they would then sell. And the answer is that yes, you can cut up a piece of fabric and use those pieces to create greeting cards. But you cannot photocopy the designs on the fabric to make the cards.

Cutting up the fabric to incorporate in the cards is akin to painting the paint-by-numbers. Photocopying the fabric would be in violation of the copyright.

I hope I was able to explain it in a way that can be easily understood!