Artist Sues Over Derriere Drawing

"Butt Sketch" artist refuses to turn the other cheek

Krandel Lee Newton has built his artist business from the bottom up.

But now he claims a former associate is trying to take his business idea -- and he's not just going to turn the other cheek.

Newton began sketching people's behinds in the West End 21 years ago. He later patented the idea, calling it "the original Butt Sketch."

Since then, Newton has traveled all over the world sketching seats of all sizes, and he said there's an art to the drawing of derrieres.

"The focus of what we do in our business is to have fun. We do it in a certain way and, not trying to overreach here, but we do it a certain quality," Newton said.

Newton said if the sketches are not done right, it could hurt his bottom dollar.

"Here is a guy who feels like, 'Well, I’m going to take this popular idea, and I want to get my own artist to go do the same thing,'" he said. "Well, you really can't do that."

Newton said Michael Bergenholtz stole the name and is using it to make a quick dollar. He is suing Bergenholtz for stealing his intellectual property.

Update: When we spoke with Bergenholtz, he said he had no idea about the lawsuit.

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