The Thriving Christian Artist

Send us Fan Mail  There’s a big misconception that “prophetic art” has to depict crosses and doves and Scripture quotes.  It causes a lot of artists to question if their art “qualifies” as prophetic. Well, prophetic art doesn’t HAVE to do all that - but it sure can!  My friend Grace Bomer is an award-winning artist who uses her art to glorify the Lord.   Her paintings, which are often metaphorical...

Send us Fan Mail As a business owner, you know that marketing and advertising are vital to growing your business.   You’ve got to be able to get out in front of your ideal client, show them what you can do, and get them excited to buy.   But how far should you go?   Should you invest in Facebook ads?  Print advertising?  Billboards?  One of those airplanes that pulls the banner behind it? ✈️ There...

Send us Fan Mail It’s always fascinating to hear how God works in the lives of artists and brings them out of bad situations so they can thrive.    My friend Gabriel Stockton was unhappy, wasn’t creating art, and felt he was at his rock bottom.   Suddenly, Gabriel began seeing the word “thrive” everywhere.  Then God led him to the community of artists in the Created to Thrive group on Facebook.  A...

Send us Fan Mail One of the biggest hardest truths about business is that sometimes you can do everything right, and people still won’t buy.   It hurts.  It’s frustrating.  It makes you want to throw in the towel. It’s easy to look at other people and think, “It’s working for them - why isn’t it working for me???” On this episode of 5-Minute Mentoring, we’re talking about all those obstacles that...

Send us Fan Mail You know those people who are so generous that they’ll drop everything to show you around their gorgeous city, inspire and move you, and then leave you wondering how you were so fortunate to meet them? Wendy Manzo is one of those people. Art has always been in Wendy, and she has always connected that art with God.  But it wasn’t until she was invited to paint ( not her artistic fi...

Send us Fan Mail As consumers, most of us enjoy getting a discount and saving a little money whenever we can.  A free stack of pancakes at IHOP?  Sign me up! I have a friend who is a big bargain-hunter - he hits up every thrift store in every town he visits in the hopes of finding a treasure.  And he finds a lot of them! But as a business owner, discounts are a different story…especially if there...

Send us Fan Mail When does an “out-of-the-blue” Christmas gift turn into a gift to people all over the world?  If you’re Jörn Lange, it’s when your wife’s seemingly random gift of pastel chalk and art paper turns into an outreach ministry based around prophetic art. But as is so often the case, Jörn’s ministry didn’t come easy.  Jörn’s journey - from initially putting his art supplies away without...

Send us Fan Mail They say the only certain things in life are death and taxes…but I would argue that “economic uncertainty” should be added to that list. 😳 If you’re worrying about the latest economic news, you’re in good company.  But over my career, I’ve realized that there is one key to thriving during uncertain economic times: Being an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship is the only way to create...

Send us Fan Mail The process of creativity can be a pretty solitary one.  We often ideate, outline, sketch, create, and finish a piece completely on our own, without input or sharing the experience with anyone else. Being an artist can be lonely.  And when that loneliness creeps into your marriage…it can cause significant pain, struggle, and grief for everyone involved.  My friends Terry and Teres...

Send us Fan Mail Does the idea of raising your prices make your knees weak?  Give you butterflies in your stomach?  Make your palms sweat? I get it - a lot of artists worry that if they raise their prices, then nobody will buy their art! But what you’ll find is that raising your prices actually helps your business grow - because building profit into your pricing means that you have the time and sp...

Send us Fan Mail For many people who grew up in the church, shame is a constant companion.  If we don’t fit into this perfect mold that is expected of us, we fear that we’re not good enough, that we’re not worthy of the love that God has promised us. So we try harder to be “perfect” - to feel like we are worthy of God’s favor.  But in the wise words of Brené Brown, “When perfectionism is driving u...

Send us Fan Mail I talk a lot about prophetic art - the idea of creating art with God as a part of our creative process. But as wonderful as it sounds, sometimes it may be easier said than done, especially if the concept is new to you.    We often get caught up in creating FOR God - in creating art that will glorify Him, that we hope will represent His goodness and His greatness to help others kno...

Send us Fan Mail Years ago, when I was just out of school and looking for a job, a family friend told me that for many opportunities in life, “It’s all about who you know!”  As a young, idealistic college graduate with my newly minted diploma, I wanted to argue - “No, it’s all about what you know and the results you can produce! I should be hired based on merit and talent - not on connections!” Th...

Send us Fan Mail When I wove my first basket, I literally went “by the book.” I used the same materials, the same weaving technique, and came out with the same basket as a result.  Since it was my first experience with weaving, that feeling that I’d done it properly was key to me creating my next basket, and my next.  And I’ve never stopped 😊 When we begin learning something new - whether it’s wo...

Send us Fan Mail NFTs. Bitcoin. Crypto. Blockchain. The Metaverse.  You can barely turn on the news or look at social media without running across one of these terms, and if you’re like me, you have more questions than answers. 😖 And then, what do all of these have to do with art?  How do you sell digital art?  What does that process look like? 🤷‍♂️ That’s exactly what I wanted to know.  So afte...

Send us Fan Mail It all started with a book called “Willow Basketry” that I got from the University of Georgia bookstore where I worked. In fact, I didn’t really think of myself as an artist then - I’d spent more time creating and performing music, not art. But something about that book caught my eye.  I’d never woven anything before, but I was willing to give it a try. And I had acres of kudzu vi...

Send us Fan Mail For kids, having fun is usually #1 on their daily agenda.  But as we become adults, “having fun” is often replaced with going to work, paying bills, dealing with the broken washing machine, and other boring “grown-up” stuff. But why?  It doesn’t have to be this way!  We adults deserve to have fun, too! And my friends Stephen and Tricia Preston are two adults who know how to have f...

Send us Fan Mail Do you get excited about the promise and potential of the new year?  Does the smell of a new planner bring you joy?  Do you make your big goals, write them on your calendar, and dream of how amazing your life will be once you’ve accomplished those goals? I’m all about dreaming big…but I’m not all about idealizing or romanticizing a dream that is so big that it’s not actually attai...

Send us Fan Mail In our recent chat, Ray Hughes said something that struck me almost speechless: “Why does something have to ‘be’ something before it becomes something else?” Ray was speaking in particular about the words and impressions that he captures in his leather journal as he goes throughout his day, snapshots of a landscape, a stranger, a feeling he experiences. Maybe those words will turn...

Send us Fan Mail I know sometimes that we creatives can be a little resistant to routines.  We’re free spirits!  We let inspiration guide us!  But over the years, I have realized that having a morning routine spending time with God gives me the time and focus I need to get ready for my day in a way that brings glory to Him. Now, there are lots of gurus who will tell you that they have found the pe...

Send us Fan Mail Do you want to have impact…or do you want to have influence? I spent some time recently with one of my spiritual fathers, Ray Hughes, as we recorded this two-part podcast for you (Part 2 is coming next week!) I’m still personally processing the deep things from that rich conversation, but two words stick out to me… impact vs influence. Ray talked about these two words like musical...

Send us Fan Mail I come from a long line of fishermen.  As a kid, I spent hours out on the lake with a fishing pole in my hand, learning life’s lessons (and how to tell a great “fish tale!”). When you’re fishing with just one pole, you can only catch one fish at a time, right?  If you want more fish, you have to use a different tool - like a trotline, a fish trap, or even a fish wheel.  The tool y...

Send us Fan Mail They say that loose lips sink ships…and so does my guest and new friend Fred Koehler! (Okay, so he’s only sunk one ship - his brother’s boat - but wait until you hear the story! 🌊) Fred is an author, illustrator, and artist with a strong belief in the power of story - and in the potential that stories have to connect with one another, change hearts and minds, and understand and e...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever walked into an unfamiliar room and felt like everyone was talking about you? Ugh…so uncomfortable, right? But what if, instead of assuming they were saying bad things about you, you assumed they were singing your praises? Would that change the way you carried yourself, how you walked, and how you interacted with those people? The same applies for the idea of inviting...

Send us Fan Mail “What kind of tree are you?”   This was the question that Tina Honerkamp’s husband, Nick, asked her when she told him that she had received a prophetic download from the Lord that she was “a tree bearing both fruit and flower.” This was also the question that started Tina on a journey of faith, self-discovery, and healing.    At the time, Tina was searching for her own identity in...