you know, receiving art from friends means way more to me than finding cool art online
as far as like, the value of the artist goes, i think having artist friends really does help in like understanding like the heart that goes into the art because like... its differnet when you know the person. i cant really put into words exactly why. but even if its not something we think about in the scope of art consumerism, i think experinecing having made art or having someone personally make a piece of art for you, that's sort of like the foot in the door to understanding the overlooked layer of creators not just being an assembly line of creativity
It's one of many reasons artists do what they do for art itself, not necessarily because they're gonna make a lucrative living.
Like I said, if we artists had any sense of business and finance, we'd be pursuing a career in finance, lol.
Heck, about all I can do for budgeting is making sure rent, car, insurance, water, and groceries are taken care of, then anything else goes into tools of my trade (music), and
then anything after that is just play money.
Definitely not the best with finances. Thank God my wife loves accounting, business, and stuff. Got her MBA.