Forget the overpriced gallery openings with $18 natural wine and artists who need a paragraph-long statement to explain why they painted a beige square. Some of the most compelling art in the Bay Area is being made — and sold — right on the sidewalk.

A striking new oil-on-panel painting depicting a Bay Area street scene has been making the rounds, and it's a reminder that the local art economy doesn't need six-figure grants or a nonprofit board to thrive. The piece, rendered with genuine skill and an eye for the everyday beauty of city life, is exactly the kind of work that makes you stop scrolling.

What's more interesting than the painting itself is the model it represents. Independent artists setting up shop on street corners, selling original work and prints directly to the public — no middlemen, no gallery commissions, no bureaucratic arts funding applications. As one SF resident noted, the artist behind the work is a familiar face: "I see [him] often at 20th and Valencia on Saturdays. He's just posted up on the SW corner selling garments." A true entrepreneur diversifying his portfolio, literally.

This is what a healthy creative economy actually looks like. Not the kind that requires a $340 million city arts budget or a cultural affairs department with more administrators than artists. It's one person with talent, hustle, and a willingness to put their work in front of real people and let the market decide.

San Francisco loves to talk about supporting artists. We fund murals, subsidize studios, and create endless commissions and committees. But maybe the most pro-artist thing the city could do is simply get out of the way — keep the sidewalks safe, the permit fees low, and let talented people do what they've always done: make something beautiful and find someone willing to pay for it.

No grants required.