The Thriving Christian Artist Matt Tommey: Artist, Best-Selling Author, Speaker, Entrepreneur and Artist Mentor

There’s really no way I’ll be able to adequately explain how impactful this podcast has been for me in a review, but I’d like to at least try to sincerely thank you for the series. I grew up knowing I was made for creative purpose, but was told over and over that art isn’t a wise pursuit, we don’t need artists in the places God was taking me, and that I was “fooling around” and selfishly “wasting time” by spending countless hours immersed in it. While I outwardly rejected those notions, there was a dark seed planted in my subconscious about what I was trying to do and be. Even though I went on to earn a degree in Studio Art, God still very pointedly took me into a career where my passion, while proven a desired skill in some circumstances, is not seen as a priority, or even important, in the grand scheme of things. This is part of the reason I’ve struggled with mental health over the past decade and lost my sense of self-worth. Having the time and energy to do what makes me feel alive taken away as a byproduct of this career made things much worse. In the battle to reclaim my mind, I began learning what neuroplasticity is and how to properly align my identity with Christ by renewal of the mind. The idea that I am enough the way I was made seemed so simple, yet so novel to me. This year, as I worked on that, I began praying for the strength to get up in the morning. I am not a morning person, but depression exacerbates that struggle 10-fold. Specifically, I prayed, “Father…give me SOMETHING I can look forward to in the morning that involves You and art. But make it simple…You know how I am.” Then, in March 2023, The Thriving Christian Artist Podcast episode 411, talking about finding identity by co-creating with God, slipped into my YouTube feed. My soul leapt at the mere title, and after watching, I couldn’t get enough. Then, I realized there are apps out there that allow me to load podcasts in as a morning alarm. So, guess what I’ve been waking up to almost every, single day for the past 5 months… :] I’m not waking up in utter defeat anymore, Matt. There’s a light breaking through. And there is still so much work to do in my heart and mind; however, once I realized I’m not only allowed to be an artist, but am encouraged to thrive as one by God’s own design…the game was changed for me. God says it’s not time to leave my current career…yet, but my desire to do what He made me to do has strengthened. The Lord recently put me in a place where I could finally buckle down and start the art business I’ve dreamed of for near 20 years, and I am hoping to join your mentoring program very soon. Thank you so much for heeding God’s call and renewing this kind of hope for so many~

I found this show from Matt’s website last week. I wish that I would have known about this podcast years ago when I started painting at church and struggling to define if it’s a hobby or vocation for me and what a good kingdom mindset is for a Christian artist. I’m going back and getting the gold from the beginning. This has been extremely helper for me as he breaks down all parts of arts (business, etc) and Christian principles. You definitely feel the compassion for his listeners and the joy he has in sharing “trade secrets”.

Matt does a great job of addressing both practical and emotional challenges faced by artists in their art business journey. That he does so from a Christian perspective, with deep understanding of the God-artist relationship as it’s designed to be, makes his insights all the more relevant.