Do you make something you love or something that sells?

One of the most difficult things in making art I think is the balance between making something that you absolutely love and what other people will like too. And thus buy.

If you go to art school you learn to express yourself, you dig deep into your fascinations, weirdness and, maybe, personal problems or past ‘trauma’s’. You learn that you can use these in your work and that other successful artists became popular by creating work that derived from some kind of macabre fascination or trauma.

But as I wrote in an earlier post; you don't need to be cuckoo for cocoa puffs to be an artist. (I’m not implying that if you have a childhood trauma or weird fascination you are crazy 😉)

Catchphrase of Sonny the Cuckoo Bird, the cartoon mascot of the General Mills breakfast cereal Cocoa Puffs: “I go cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs!” Compare cuckoo meaning “crazy”.

I don't have weird fascinations or anything. I don't have childhood trauma’s, at the contrary, I had a really carefree childhood. So nothing that will shock people, I just need to make art. And I like aesthetics too. Balanced and beautiful things. I know this is different for everyone too.

These days you don’t have to die to get famous as an artist. But you should be able to sell your work. And I have been noticing a shift in the way art is being sold. Where you used to go to a gallery to buy art you can now go online and find anything you like in an hour! There are still normal galleries but there are also online galleries. Imagine the masses you can reach! Whoo!

So where artists were used to bring their work to a gallery to sell their work they are now entrepreneurs that go on social media and connect to people.

To get back to my problem; there are many ways to get your work out there so you’d think more people would buy it. I think that the offer has gotten so massive (as with all online products) people have more to choose from and get more pickier. So you have to find people that really like your work. Or do you have to play into the demand what people want?

Where is the line that you stop making something out of you own fascination and aesthetics and start making art that others like (more)? As I see it you can do both as long you are willing to make some concessions.

I’m really curious what you think of this… Let me know!

NB. In this post I’m discussing art that people want to buy and hang in their homes or offices. Not the kind of art you see in musea, that whoooole different topic.