Not Everyone Will Understand Your Artwork And Here’s Why

By Nicole Tinkham

Art is subjective. As an artist, you may have the ability to appreciate all types of artwork regardless of whether or not it’s your style. You understand the skills necessary to create and you’ve been through the various struggles of an artist. You just get it. But not everyone does and it’s important to understand why. If you’ve ever gotten your feelings hurt because someone decided not to buy your artwork or have said negative things about your artwork or about you as an artist, this is a must read. The more we understand the negative Nancy’s in life, the better we can accept them for who they are and move on. Here’s why not everyone will understand your artwork and why.

People are all different for a reason

Life would be so boring if we all liked the same things and acted the same way. We are all so different and that’s a good thing! Since we are different, of course we’ll all have different tastes when it comes to artwork. You yourself choose to like certain things over others and that’s totally natural.

There will be some things you just don’t understand in life. Like how someone could jump out of a perfectly good airplane and go skydiving. To other people who love the adventure, it’s their dream to do these things. Same thing goes with art. Some people may be blind to the beauty of abstract art. We’re all into different things and you have got to understand and accept that.

It may seem like the ideal situation would be for us all to agree on everything. That way there would be less judgment, arguments, and hurt feelings. But think about this, what would life be like with absolutely no conflict? Sometimes it’s that little bit of drama that keeps us going. It’s the “prove them wrong” mentality that keeps us pushing to reach our goals. It’s the negative critiques that make us improve our skills and grow as artists.

Before you get all down on yourself remember that we all have different tastes and just because one person doesn’t like your work, the negativity is not being said against you as a person. So what if they’re not a fan? Not everyone is a fan of bubble gum pink walls in their home either but are you going to hate someone else for having it? No way! Do your best to not take negative comments personally, even though this is probably one of the most difficult things you’ll ever do.

So how do you brush off the “my 5 year old could throw some paint on a canvas like that” comments? You focus on all the people who do appreciate your work. Now that you realize some people just simply won’t like it, you also know that there are people out there who do love it! Pay more attention to those people and less on the negative ones. Do not let them stop you from being amazing. Just move onto the next person.

One last important thing we need to mention. No matter what anyone else has to say about your artwork, never ever say anything negative back to them. Let them have their opinion, respect their point of view and show them love anyway. You know that you’re an incredible artist and people love your work. So why let one person who doesn’t like your art ruin all of that effort? Keep being the amazing person you are and never let anyone get you down.

Not everyone will understand and appreciate your artwork and that’s ok. We are all different people and have our different opinions. Would you agree with this? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below and let us know how you handle negativity towards your art.