Art Is Not Just For The Rich
That’s right, art isn’t just for the mega rich. Art is for the everyman. Art is everyman. The enjoyment, the appreciation and the commentary of art is not and should not be reserved just for the wealthy. Since the dawn of man art has been an important medium. Art tells stories it is a form of communication. Art tells us who we are and where we came from.
Since the days cavemen were painting pictures of mammoths and hunters on the walls of caves, man has used art to communicate.
Is art as important now as it was in ancient times? Yes, and here’s why…
Art Is A Social Barometer
Banksy is perhaps one of the most well known artists of our time. An excellent demonstration of the power of art on public perception and feelings about current events. Described by Wikipedia as a “political activist” whenever a Banksy’s work pops up somewhere the whole nation stops and takes notice. 
Through his art Banksy has made public statements about his views on the state of conditions of migrants living in the “Jungle” in Calais, the violence in the Gaza Strip and the child abuse scandal within the Catholic Church. Each piece of work a profound and unflinching statement about the state of our society.
Art Can Drive Change
Art can make people stop in their tracks. It can take your breath away with its beauty or the feelings of despair it inspires. Art can inspire people to care where words, previously may not have moved them.
‘Washed Up’ by artist Alejandro Duran is a collection of trash and debris brought together to form installations. The artist walked along Mexico’s coastline collecting pieces of rubbish that had washed up on the shore. The artist then turned this into a series of installations to draw attention to the issue of ocean pollution and raise a wider awareness about environmental problems globally. 
British artist Katrina Slack creates sculptures from fishing gear that has been left in the sea or washed up on beaches, in support of the Sea Change campaign. Slack’s sculptures are a shocking visual representation of the effect of the fishing industry on marine wildlife.
It has been predicted that by the year 2050 there will be more plastic in the sea than fish. Artists are able to bring to our attention things that we would otherwise be ignorant of or able to ignore.
A five minute google search would thrown up at least a dozen examples of different artists across the world working hard to bring to our attention the many environmental challenges we are now facing.
An Historical Record
Without art, it is fair to say that we would not know who we are or where we come from.
Every nation has a rich catalogue of artistic records pertaining to its cultural ancestry. One of the oldest recorded written languages, the Egyptians used pictorial symbols to record their day to day lives and their important cultural and historical events. Fast forward to the Eleventh Century and the Bayeux Tapestry is an artist’s rendering of one of the most important events in British history, the Battle of Hastings. 
If we want to know about society during the industrial revolution in Britain we have to look no further than the unglamorous and gritty depictions brought to us by LS Lowry. Andy Warhol dragged us kicking and screaming through the chaos of the 60’s and 70’s and the rapid societal changes that were taking place.
This brings us back to Banksy, whose artworks will leave an unapologetic record for our generations to judge us.
In conclusion, art is for and about all of us. Art tells us who we are and where we’ve been. Art touches the mind and the soul, it can move us to do great things and make great changes. Art tells amazing stories. If you think art isn’t for you, it may be time to think again.
Art is just for rich people or scratch that correction…. Art that is NOT…. cheap Squidward garbage, chibi, or something you can learn out of a tutorial is for rich people. It doesn’t matter if it should be for everyone the reality is that it isn’t.
The reasons are thus.
1) It takes years of practice to be able to make art you can sell or make art that can match your vision
.. and it Un paid practice which is why not everyone can be an artist. Willing to devote ten years of your life to get one high quality picture? I didn’t think so.
2) artists don’t get paid by the hour but by job and when a drawing hobby turns into I make my whole living off this, things start getting expensive. Especially when you don’t know when your next commission is.
3) priorities, low paying jobs will get the lazy rushed jobs and expensive stuff will get the effort.
4) art is not a charity, they want to make the most money possible even when you are not asking for something fancy like the Mona Lisa. No one wants to work for “cheap” clients. It’s not fair but that’s the way it is. artists don’t care about what’s fair or not. While TECHNICALLY art is available for everyone, it’s not dream art, art that matches vision, art you could spend hours looking at admiring the beauty. It’s CHEAP art. For the commonors who can’t afford the good stuff guess what? They don’t get the good stuff, they get quick rush jobs. If you want a more affordable option I’m sure SOME artists will compensate you but it will NEVER be the good stuff, it will never have the sheer level of quality the rich get. So Yes TECHNICALLY art is accessible to EVERYONE. The art is not the same quality, not all art quality is created equal while art is technically accessable to all that doesn’t mean everyone gets their ideal art. The best art is always going to cater to wealthy. The awe inspiring art is not getting created for an average Joe shmoe like me or someone else or a poor person it’s going to the rich monopoly man who can pay the top dollar to the weeks it will take to make that. That’s why art is for the rich. Don’t deceive us into thinking maybe one day we can have that awesome art because not all art is created equal. Just because art IS available to everyone it doesn’t mean the art available to everyone is good art… Otw Squidward art.
I disagree.. I genuinely believe art is for Rich people only. And I know from personal experience. Just wanting help with creating anything was projected as thousands of dollars.. if you need Art for your book, or for your story or something to suit your artistic vision then the cheap, Chibi, and garbage art you can learn in one or two tutorials isn’t going to cut it. And frankly you’re looking at lots of money. Art is not for everyone, at least not the good stuff. Stop trying to give everyone false hope.
No you idiots, art is only for the wealthy who doesn’t have to worry about having food on the table
Go check your email Josh – you have a reply waiting for you for the email you sent me.