If I pay for art, it's pretty much garanteed that I'll be unhappy with it.

Very few arts do I hang up to see every day. So, unless I can use it as an icon or other place I can display it online, I'll end up sticking it in a folder, irl or on my computer, and forgetting about it. And when I run across it, I'll feel bad about having paid for something I never use.

On the other hand if it's a trade or gift, I feel great every time I see it, pretty much no matter the quality. I think this is why I gravitate towards sketches rather than finished detailed works.

For a while, I could blame it on being poor. But now I'm not so poor. And I'm willing to spend money on gifts for people, or help people out who are in trouble. I suppose if I can be tricked into doing something that pays for a commission, then receive the commission in the guise of a gift, that might work.

Hmm... pain meds make me introspective as well as silly...