You're ignoring the whole other segment of my post pointing out that there are dozens of art galleries in my tiny city where artists make money selling their tr

You're ignoring the whole other segment of my post pointing out that there are dozens of art galleries in my tiny city where artists make money selling their traditional art work. And not just eking out a living money: they make enough money to have retail store fronts! If it's this prevalent in a no-name city, places like NYC, Chicago, SF, etc must have hundreds or thousands of art galleries. I have an entire house full of original paintings. Most of them were purchased in a retail gallery. It's not hard to find people who paint/draw for a living. The fact that original work can be subsidized through the sale of digital replicas make the field so much more economical than it was in the past. It's no longer the case that you need to be a wealthy family to have a painting commissioned. I've had several done.