It makes so much sense! :) A sell out, to me, is pretty much how you said no passion, doing it for the bottom line instead of the joy of creating....it is also letting the opinions of others influence your subject matter instead of following your own creative inklings. I am in a gallery and pieces I have sold have a tendency to be in certain themes and that inspires me to do more of the sort. Does that make me a sell out? I don't think so, but it is very motivating to know that you will receive funds for your creative outlet. I find that I am overwhelmed with possibility and sometimes cannot create at all. I am paralyzed. When I have a commission, I don;t look at it like selling out either, because they are getting a piece of art that they could not create for themselves and I am getting the opportunity to create my own spin on their idea and that is very inspiring for me. As far as pricing goes, I just put the amount of what I would make at my hourly job and price my work accordingly to how much time it took to paint. I got over the idea of "selling my soul" when I considered the price at which I was selling my soul at my job and how would I prefer to spend the bulk of my time? When working fulltime I rarely find energy to create at all! People are happy to have my art and so I am happy to accept the money! lol I wish we lived in a world where I could just do it for fun but I do it for survival on so many levels.