Theft by artists is more common a problem than I'd like it to be as I've gotten nailed a few times. Last orgy YCH I bid on simply got canceled by the artists before money was sent thankfully, though the artist said they wanted me to wait for sketches before paying which seemed slightly odd when they said it.

Yeah, lots and lots of dishonest ones out there, and some are even popular artists...and the popular ones are the most successful theives because as long as they do most of the art everyone will write the theft off as the fault of the person that got ripped off. When you're famous enough, you can do almost anything you like.

My wonderment is at the guy actually saying he's not a thief. Both an honest man and a thief are gonna say they aren't a thief.

There are two artists before you, one always tells the truth and one always lies. You may ask one question only, what do you ask and to whom?

That only works in the fantasy case where one always lies. In the real world EVERYONE does both...whichever one get the desired result is the one that's used.