Wiktionary
artistic licence
n. Any departure from convention or from factual accuracy taken by an artist to achieve a desired effect
Usage examples of "artistic licence".
But the smallest are very small: some are full up with four or five men in them, and one of the carpenters who has nearly finished a ship is represented - with artistic licence - standing astride it with his feet on the ground on each side.
I had seen pictures of storms where sea and rock seemed so exaggerated that not even artistic licence could justify such violent, fantastic use of paint.
There also appears to be some confusion between the experts as to whether trams were allowed to run through the tunnel beneath Kingsway during those dangerous years, so again I've opted for artistic licence (or not, whichever the case may be).