The economic recession could bring new meaning to the term “starving artist.”

It’s never easy to sell art, and it gets more difficult during a recession, said Justin Marable, an artist who lives in Topeka but displays and sells his work in Lawrence.

“Art is a luxury. A lot of people can’t buy it now,” he said.

Last year no one seemed to be buying art, Marable said. Art sales did pick up around the holidays, as they usually do, he said.

“I’m fortunate to have my wife, who is an art teacher. She keeps us afloat,” Marable said.

The recession has caused the art market to become more conservative, Lawrence artist Jeremy Rockwell said. Artists, however, can capture the recession’s “historical bump in the road” in their works, he said.

Artists shouldn’t have difficulty finding places to display their art, Rockwell said. While the galleries that rely on the income of art might dwindle, displays can still be found in nontraditional locations such as restaurants and coffee shops, he said.

“Those are the places that make people feel safe and comfortable, especially when they are surrounded by tasteful art,” Rockwell said.

Being in tune with the pulse of the current economy is the key to selling art, Rockwell said.

“I would love to make gargantuan art pieces, but right now I will stick with accessible, more economical and local resources-driven art,” he said. “That way the patrons can still get a slice but not pay as much.”