One of the hardest parts of being an artist is courting the seemingly endless barrage of awkward, inappropriate and downright rude comments hurled your way. Whether it's an intended compliment or an ignorant gaffe, some statements about l'arte are better left unsaid.

Thus we've compiled an unofficial guide outlining what you definitely, positively should not say to an artist, whether friend or foe. We called out to some of our favorite artists, bloggers and beloved readers for their input. If you're an artist, odds are you've heard one or more of these statements before. And for this, we apologize.

Study the egregious statements below, coupled with appropriately absurd stock photos. (Is anyone this happy while they're painting. Really?) Let us know your own most reviled statements in the comments.

"It must be nice to not have a real job."

-Yumi Sakugawa





@HuffPostArts No, I mean what's your real job. — Isabella Bruno (@thenewpopup) January 9, 2014

"Assimilate"

-Jacolby Satterwhite

@HuffPostArts Have you sold anything yet? — Whyartpl (@whyartpl) January 9, 2014

"Never tell an artist what size, color and suggested amount of nudity to include in a painting."

-Natalie Frank

@huffpostarts "Can you give me some free art?" ;-) — Juliland.com (@juliland) January 9, 2014

@HuffPostArts "how long did that take you to paint?" — Pat Byrne (@pbyrnestudios) January 9, 2014

"The work you're doing is illegitimate and you shouldn't be doing it."

-Daniel Maidman

"When an artist is describing their work to you, do not interrupt, start guessing who they are by naming other artists or attempting to complete the description."

-Kalup Linzy

@HuffPostArts Oh that's interesting. My kid could do that. I could do that. I took art in high school and... — Babs Reingold (@babsreingold) January 9, 2014