[Prestidigitweeze]

Catlady:

Your definition of artists as professionals would make more sense if you referred to them as professional artists. A person who makes money from art, whether occasionally or constantly, is to that extent a professional artist. A person who does not is an artist all the same, but deciding that money determines the level of the quality of the work itself is arbitrary.

The next level of discussion might be to try to determine whether excellence is a fixed attribute or simply a matter of collective preference to be decided from year to year by consensus. If the latter is true, then perhaps you're using money as your gauge for popularity.