These women are smart enough to know what society is all about, they know where their art will or will not take them.  For you to suggest and ASSume they are bums and that using or selling drugs has been their means actually says what you are about – stereotyping, judging, and labeling.  You and people like you in your comfort zone are the ones who are clueless and so trapped in your own petty perceptions and misconceptions. And for you to suggest that art is nothing and will lead to nowhere, you are missing out and lost in the little world that is your own smug safety net. 
People don’t have pity for these women artists. In Darlina and Sevilla, we see talent and true beauty. 
Pity is for the people who smugly degrade, and that is what a bum is. Are you a bum, David Brown?
Don’t worry. Pity is not yours. At least we hope not. Because, like people experiencing poverty or homelessness, you still may deserve a chance.