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What you‘re saying reminds me of the Ciavete paint option that Pegoretti offered for his frames:
Each Ciavete is a unique composition, and, as the nature of the artwork suggests, arrives unseen – a complete surprise. However, the Bottega will happily note down your colour likes and dislikes, or any starting point of inspiration you wish to communicate, before starting work. Naturally, there’s a lot of trust involved in handing over complete artistic freedom, which is why the Ciavate scheme, like our painted graphics and panel schemes, is an optional add-on chosen at the time of ordering.
It became a success but I reckon he only got into a position where he was able to offer his work as an artistic package deal because of his stellar reputation as a framebuilder.
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Sig_Arlecchino
Hulsroy
Is this not just a Surly Karate Monkey with custom bag and paintjob?
I am really trying to figure out how to make a living doing this. But as @carlosbrown is saying it comes from a place of love and interest. I have touched on this bricoleur idea in here before but basically it comes down to "my art" being making what I want/need with the means available to me + my styling... I guess. But how do you sell that? (I have tried youtube but I can't find the time).
In your case: you build up bikes you obtain with means available to you and you build with parts you have/can afford. That is what makes it awesome. It's both a process and a final piece and you are experimenting with it and it becomes what it becomes and then you change it to fit your new feelings/needs.
I could build you an ATB. And I would love to. But am I making you a frame you then adapt to your dream? Or do I help facilitate that dream? Because what I enjoy is the obstructions in helping make the decisions. It is deciding colours, materials and textures and doing the visualisations and adapting the design to obscure bike parts.
It is ALSO about trying to figure out how to make the bloody thing nice and straight. But that can't stand alone because I am not just a maker/craftsman in the contractor kind of way. I am also the narrator, designer and stylist. And so far I haven't met anyone fully commited to paying me to be that.
The narrative you make yourself and the bike any framebuilder can do. That seems to be the way for most custom bikes.
I am not interested in making crown jewels for rich people. On the other hand I need money to make a living. So here we are.