‘Professional artist’ is not one of the things you commonly see on lists of professions or careers – except at schools which cater specifically to artistic children, career advisers, books and even computer programs that intend to help young people choose jobs for later in life rarely mention art as a possible path. Most people wouldn’t even find that surprising – art is well known for being a challenging career, even for those with talent and determination, and success is not assured. Yet none of that is going to put off a true artist who needs to create to express themselves, and for whom art is always a natural part of their lives. But what makes a professional artist?

It’s not business cards or high grades from high school or [...]