Making it in the Art World

Dear reader,
A friend recently posted on facebook a question about what it takes to make it in the art world.  For the past year and a half I have been thinking about that and similar questions.

How do I earn a living making art?  What kind of art should I make?  Should I make art that looks pretty and likable and could sell for a low price?  Should I make art that has a lot of thought put into it? Should I strive to make art that requires a high degree of skill?  What is the right venue for selling my art? How should I price what I make?

I find that there are often so many questions related to this topic that I start to become confused and start to think around in circles.  ( Then I start to wonder if I should make art on the topic of directionlessness.)

I can't claim to be any kind of expert but I'm starting to notice that there are several different paths for the creative visual artist to sell his/her work depending on the type of work he/she does. The options I am listing below are based on my experiences and books I have read on the subject.  Here are the categories and paths that I have come up with.

1. The Craft Artist
Price of art: low
Education Needed: A few classes in the area of specialty
Time spent of each piece of art: Not much time.  The artist has to balance the idea that the product should look good but must still be profitable for the artist to sell.
Where to sell: craft shows, craft fairs, farmer's market, online stores, online marketplaces
Goal: Create art that is easy to sell to a wide audience at a low price point.

2. The Artist
Price of art: medium
Education Needed: A degree in the area of specialty
Time spent of each piece of art: one day to two weeks. ( I speculate)
Where to sell: art shows, art fairs, galleries, online store
Goal: Create quality pieces of art that involve a high degree of skill and that possibly look good when placed above a couch. Enter art in contests in the hopes that one's art will win and one can therefore be justified in charging more money for his/her art.

3. The Contemporary Artist (An artist who deals with contemporary issues)
Price of art: medium to high
Education Needed: A degree in the area of specialty
Time spent of each piece of art: one week to two months (I speculate)
Where to sell: galleries, art shows(?), artist's website (?)
Goal: Create art that provokes thought.  Talk about art and their thoughts on social issues.