Being an artist seems so cool, but it often doesn't pay well if you aren't really good. Otherwise I might try to become one as a job!
Most become famous after death! They are defined as an individual who creates art, practicing an art or demonstrating an art. Too bad it's not lucrative! 
That's true! Many of them didn't even get to live through their success, what a shame.
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only. The term is often used in the entertainment business, especially in a business context, for musicians and other performers (less often for actors). "Artiste" (the French for artist) is a variant used in English only in this context; this use is becoming rare. Use of
I think it drives a few people around me mad. We try not to forget it's art and not just a job." He often works with people who are seen "as having similar ideals of creating innovative, forward thinking pop music", according to HitQuarters. Richard X says, "It's not so much a vision, more an ethos. I like the artist who stands alone or has the ideas that at first seem a little left of centre. Rather than chase a style, where you inevitably