Artist: JMW Turner
Landscape with Water

Now what makes a painting attractive?  

If we are were talking about flies, then the answer is scent.  

My silly friend, we are discussing people.  Specifically, people who want to purchase our paintings.   

Ah, yes, my print of the Turner I keep on the wall.  The original is worth a lot of money these days.  I'm glad the museum has not sold it.  Prints are good, but nothing replaces being in front of the it.

Did you know he actually made a living as an artist?  He was not wealthy, but his works supported him.

He had patrons who supported his career by collecting and commissioning works.  And, he worked his way through his education employed by architects and artists.  Remember, he did not live in our world. Having a patron was being employed in those days.

His painting were popular, even the ones that approached abstraction, like the print on the wall.

A good start for our subject.

Apparently he was reclusive, and the following puzzles me, did not really care about about how long his pigments would retain their color.   His work faded quickly, a fact the critic Ruskin complained about in his writings.

A clue of sorts..

John Ruskin was the critic of his time.  If Ruskin was writing about your work, those who read articles by art critics would take the time to see your work.  Generally, this was middle class to wealthy people who were not working 12 hours a day, seven days a week.  To get noticed by Ruskin, you had to have your work accepted in the salons and shows of the age.

For this to work you had to have talent.  You had to hone that talent.  You had to put your work into the public eye for Art Critics to see.

So, you really didn't need to be an extroverted showman.  JMW Turner certainly wasn't that.

Today's world is a lot different.

For starters, our poor has the time to appreciate art, if they so desire.  There are a huge number of industries that employ artists.  It is possible to survive without selling one's own art.  

Oh, Patrons still exist, but they are not as prominent as they were in the 18th and 19th centuries.

No one has to leave their house and go to a gallery to see new art.  That is an option.  We have the internet, thus the world.  For all practical purposes, Turner was limited to London, and the European wealthy classes.

The world's population is what, around 8 billion right now.  Let's say 7 billion are not, for whatever reason, not interested in purchasing art.  That leaves 1 billion potential customers.  Say two artists for every customer.  That is two billion artists competing for attention.

Exactly how should I comprehend those numbers?

I can't.

We, my silly friend, are looking at this wrong.

Okay.  Okay.  

A bowl of cat food is set on the floor; and, Alex's patience pays off.   Her artist limps toward a camera tripod and he ends the video feed, called Alex vs Alex.   It's time for him to paint.