Art ownership.

[hondarepsol]

I have been getting artwork done by the same freelance artist for around 20 years now. The most recent costs for the art (no film) has been $850 for a 6 color back design. I supply the line art and all of the reference material, along with planning the layout. He wants to start doing posters or prints using this art and even selling the t-shirts on something like etsy. We never had a contract saying what he was still entitled to (if anything). He thinks he still has rights to the art, in some fashion. I say it is mine, especially after shelling out the kind of money he wants. Any thoughts on this. I don't want this to get ugly, but we both need to know the score.