Do you get paid for that?

Like the question, "How do you earn a living?" this question goes to the both the value of art and art practice to our culture. On the one hand, paintings by well known artists are highly valued luxury items among the most quickly appreciating assets along side real estate in the current market. On the other hand, most artists cannot afford to live through the compensation provided by their art work alone. One reason certainly is the lack of value assigned to many kinds of artistic production.