Daniel Grant’s Huffington Post column focuses on artists who narrow their work to expand their market:
In most cases, the reason for choosing one style, medium or subject matter is money. One thinks of artists doing what they do out of love and zeal; having to give up that work, and devoting themselves to a type of art that may not interest them as much, as a result of market considerations seems to defy why they became artists in the first place. Art skills are put to use, although they may be tangential to their main interest in art. On the other hand, artists who find something within their creative realm that earns them money may feel quite fortunate.
Over time, many artists learn these hard truths, or they may be told the same by art dealers and art career advisors: Some are asked, are you looking to please yourself or the marketplace? Others are told that artists working in three different media need three different marketing plans, because painting galleries usually won’t take their sculpture, and most painting and sculpture galleries don’t handle photography. Also, do they have time to do all three media well?
Art career advisor, Susan Joy Sager, stated, “artists are not seen as serious by collectors and dealers if they do a lot of different things.”
Do Artists Need to be Specialists? (Huffington Post)