Penelope Trunk on being an artist

I just discovered Penelope Trunk's blog today, so I can't vouch for her, but she has an interesting piece entitled How to Build a Career as an Artist. Some money quotes:

The starving artist routine is total bullshit. I know because I did it. Once you know that you are not going to make rent, you can't really make art.
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Your art reflects your surroundings, and you can live like a pauper, but that limits the range of your art.
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So if you think you're an artist and you are not making art now, but you think that in the right circumstance you'd make art, you are lying to yourself. I'm sorry. But it's true. Unless you are starving. If you are starving, see point number one: You need to get a job.
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Are you making money and you're wondering if you should quit your job to do art full time? Take this test: Did you marry rich? Do you have a trust fund? Do you have reliable buyers for almost everything you produce? If you did not answer yes to any of these, then keep your day job.

I think the last point is particularly important. Etsy has a whole series of articles called Quit Your Day Job. It's an irresponsible thing to push, especially in this economy. Incidentally, many of the artists featured in the Quit Your Day Job series are supported by a spouse.