Stop Trying to Please Everyone: Why Niche Art is the Future of Authentic Creativity
The Hard Truth: Your Art Isn’t for Everyone (And That’s Okay)
As an artist, you might hope that everyone will love your work. But the truth is, not everyone will—and that’s actually a good thing. Trying to please everyone can water down your unique style, making your art feel less personal and powerful. Instead, finding your niche helps you stay true to your vision and build a strong connection with people who truly appreciate your work.
History Shows the Power of a Niche
Take the Ashcan School, a group of American artists in the early 1900s who focused on painting everyday urban life. Artists like George Bellows and John Sloan rejected the polished, idealized subjects of their time and instead painted working-class neighborhoods, crowded streets, and ordinary people. Their art wasn’t for everyone—some people thought it was too rough or unpolished—but it resonated with those who saw the beauty in reality. Today, they are recognized as important figures in American realism.
By John Sloan - 1. The Athenaeum: Home - info - pic2. The Detroit Institute of Arts, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6489991
Another example is Edward Hopper. His paintings of quiet, lonely city scenes weren’t trendy at the time, but they spoke to people who connected with that mood. By sticking to his unique vision, Hopper created a lasting impact. His work wasn’t made for everyone—it was made for those who felt something in it.
Why Trying to Please Everyone Doesn’t Work
Focusing on a specific audience helps you:
Make Deeper Connections – People who relate to your work will appreciate it more.
Stand Out – A unique style or subject makes your work easier to recognize.
Build a Loyal Audience – Fans who connect with your art will follow your journey and support you over time.
When you try to make art that appeals to everyone, you often end up with work that doesn’t stand out. It might feel safer to aim for broad appeal, but history shows that artists who commit to a personal style and message are the ones who leave a lasting impact.
The Challenge: Finding Your True Audience
Many artists struggle to balance tradition and originality. In today’s art world, realist painters may feel overlooked in favor of abstract or conceptual art. But history proves that artists who stay true to their style often outlast trends. I’m also not saying, abstract or conceptual art is a trend any more than one might think realism is a trend. I’m simply saying, your audience already knows what they want and who to get it from.
Think about Thomas Eakins or John Singer Sargent—both were realist painters who, at times, were dismissed as old-fashioned. But their dedication to their craft kept their work relevant long after the trends of their time faded.
How to Find Your Niche
If you’re not sure who your audience is, ask yourself:
What subjects or themes do I love painting the most?
Who do I imagine would want to collect my work?
What techniques or styles make my art unique?
One helpful exercise is to keep a journal or sketchbook to track your thoughts. Write down what excites you, what themes keep appearing in your work, and what kind of feedback you get from people who truly connect with your art. Over time, you’ll start to see patterns that reveal your niche.
Moreover, go where your audience is. As simple as this statement is, I am always amazed to see realist artists displaying their work with non-realist art. Who are you trying to attract?
A good metaphor is this:
Think of your art as a premium or even exotic automobile. Your audience goes to dealerships who specializes in premium or exotic cars. If they (someone from your audience) walk into the showroom expecting a particular type of car and the dealer has a mix of farm equipment, used cars that were never considered premium or exotic even when new, and a few new premium cars—what do you think that audience is going to do? That’s right, they will walk out and go to another dealership that understands them. Furthermore, they are never going to think about you or your “premium/exotic” car, remember it, or remember you.
Don’t Let Labels Define You
Art critics and historians often try to fit artists into categories, but great art isn’t about fitting into a box. It’s about expressing something real. Your work doesn’t need to follow a trend or gain universal praise to be meaningful. Success isn’t about being liked by everyone—it’s about making an impact on the right people.
You might be thinking, “but Mike, I like to paint landscapes and still life subjects. Sometimes I do portraits, and even pet portrait commissions. I don’t want to niche down and do the same thing over and over again”.
I’m not saying niche down on the subject, I am saying be true to your style, focus on what you love to do, and focus on your audience. Don’t chase trends. Don’t confuse your audience. When someone sees your art, they should know it was done by you. We all experiment and do other things as artists, if you enjoy that new direction, that may be fine. If the style is still there and it still looks like your work, you may be able to bring some of your audience with you but may also have to find quite a few new people.
How far you niche down though, the easier it is to find your audience and focus on making great work they can only get from you. It will always be easier to build a solid audience if you’re known for something specific—so, keep that in mind.
Conclusion: Embrace Your Unique Voice
The bottom line? Your art shouldn’t be for everyone. The most memorable artists are those who commit to their style and message. By focusing on the right audience instead of trying to reach the widest one, you’ll create work that matters and attract a community of people who truly value what you do.
So don’t worry about pleasing the masses. Create art that speaks to the people who truly understand it. Those are the ones who will support your journey and help you grow as an artist.
Also. I’m right there with many of you. I enjoy making landscapes, portraits, still life and more. My focus is on my style. I might even paint a landscape to fit a theme I am creating with still life paintings. For example, if I do a still life of a bottle of wine, I may do a landscape based on the vineyard the wine comes from. My audience isn’t just made up of still life art buyers, my niche is more about the subject and style versus the type of art I make.
Be creative, find you unique voice and try to stick to that niche.
A few of my own oil paintings - © Michael Warth
