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Technically, whether art is a business or hobby is defined by whether you show a profit on your income tax returns a certain percentage of the time. (I'm not sure exactly what that percentage is, but so far art seems to be a business for me.)
When people ask me what I do, and I say "I'm an artist," I can see the wheels turning. They're curious whether I'm a real artist or just a hobbyist, but they never come out and ask.
When I was young, my friends asked me when I was going to get a real job. Once, when my husband was laid off, several friends immediately jumped on me, saying I owed it to my family to work "full time." "Just get any job," they said. "Even at 7-11 or Border's." I protested that I was earning more than I could possibly earn at one of these jobs, but they flat-out didn't believe me. No one is saying anything now, but I have a feeling I'll get the same lecture at other times in my life. It never ends.
I do think part of the attitude towards artists stems from the knowledge that they love what they do. Most people don't love what they do, and quite a few people hate going to work. So they are envious of the artist and assume that artists couldn't possibly be having fun and making money at the same time! It must therefore be a hobby because it's fun.
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