The vast majority cannot live off their art, and never will. Most artists know this. Even the lucky ones who happened to win the art lottery by having the righ

The vast majority cannot live off their art, and never will. Most artists know this. Even the lucky ones who happened to win the art lottery by having the right pieces, the right connections, the right showings, all at just the right time. Our view of art is badly influenced by survivor bias: We see those very few who made it and ignore the vast majority who did not. Funding the arts is very like funding basic scientific research: You don't do it expecting any return whatsoever, you do it because it is has value, non-monetary value, in and of itself, and maybe, just maybe, 1 in 10,000 projects will amount to something. I have friends who make livings, that is, are able to survive and raise families, on their art, as long as they are very, very careful with budgeting, far more careful than I've ever had to be. Almost everyone I know who hears this thinks they are raking in the dough. Nope. Mostly just above the poverty line, scraping by. Doing what they love, absolutely, but scraping by. And everyone, every single person I've ever met, has advice for them on how to do better. And every single one of those advisers has no clue, talks out of their hat (or other anatomic area). Just like all those people who offer you start up advice and have no clue.