It’s tough to make a living as an artist of any stripe, and a nice sale always feels good.

You’d think, then, you’d want to do everything you can not to alienate your patrons or make them wary of buying from you again.

Which is what seems to have happened in this story.

AITAH for refusing to sell a painting I bought at the local fair and being mad they gave my number to a stranger?

I went to my state fair on Monday, and they had several independent artists around the park painting various scenes.

One of those artists put my son in his painting, which was a scene of some of the food trucks in front of one of the expo halls.

It’s a small painting, about postcard sized.

If there’s any keepsake from that days, seems like that would be the one, right?

I was pleasantly surprised to later see the painting for sale in the main exhibit hall.

I paid cash for it and bought it, because my son was a piece of that artwork.

I gave the person my name and phone number, along with payment.

In return, I was given the number of the person coordinating the art so I can arrange pickup after the fair ends.

I assume the painting wasn’t handed over immediately as its display was a part of the fair.

Which would mean that others would also be looking at it.

Which led to the phone call…

Imagine my surprise when today I got a phone call from a number I didn’t recognize.

It went to voicemail so I listened.

It was the owner of one of the food trucks in the picture.

He called to ask if I wanted to sell the painting to him for more than I paid.

He was polite, but a little pushy.

I politely declined and explained why.

But all of this means…

After I got off the phone, I started getting upset

The painting was listed as sold on the display but my contact info was in the binder.

Which means someone gave a stranger my phone number.

My mom said I was out of line for refusing to sell, because he offered me more money than I paid for it.

So, they complained to the fair.

I did call the guy coordinating all this and

a) told him I do want the painting I paid for and

b) that my number shouldn’t be given out anymore.

AITAH?

Let’s see what picture the comments paint:

The math isn’t mathing, mom.

There was a leak, and you should confirm how it happened.

Here’s the main issue:

I’ve already got every major corporation selling my data.

Do little independent art fairs have to do it now too?

If you liked that story, read this one about grandparents who set up a college fund for their grandkid because his parents won’t, but then his parents want to use the money to cover sibling’s medical expenses.