The art world can definitely be a haughty, sometimes snobbish and non-accepting one. This is not true for all purveyors of art, but sadly there is an alarmingly high number of galleries and artists that have lost the pleasure in and love for the essence of art. Money and prestige have become their mantra.
Art should be something that we: take joy in beholding, continuously learn from, get momentarily lost in, appreciate for its diversity of style, method and genre and perhaps most importantly of all, partake in the acts of sharing and teaching it.
Everyone, at some point in time, was oblivious to the historical genius of artists long-gone, unlearned in the principles of art and unaware of the great work of the modern day's extraordinary contributors. Why should someone new to this vast and beautiful arena of creativity, feel they are unwelcome? The unequivocal answer is, "They shouldn't." As we grow in talent as artists or in knowledge as aficionados of the hobby we hold dear, we should remember the joy that it has given us, the love that we felt for it when we first became aware of it as a passion and share our thoughts, insights and experiences with others new to their hobby.