The Thriving Christian Artist

Seven Proven Ways Artists Are Earning More Now

• Matt Tommey: Artist, Best-Selling Author, Speaker, Entrepreneur and Artist Mentor

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Feeling buried under shifting algorithms and scattershot advice? We’re pulling back the curtain on seven strategies that actually generated income for artists this year—backed by hundreds of survey responses from our mentoring community. The theme is clear: simple systems, strong relationships, and consistent action beat hacks every time.

We start with teaching as a reliable income engine that builds trust and turns students into collectors—through weekly classes, small workshops, retreats, and Zoom. From there, we explore strategic partnerships that put your work in front of buyers without constant hustling: galleries, juried shows, exhibitions, and public art commissions with real budgets. You’ll hear why commissions remain a powerhouse when you lead with clarity—tiered pricing, letters of understanding, timelines—and how a healthy waitlist can raise your perceived value and stabilize cash flow.

The backbone of it all is referral-driven selling. Visibility tools help, but people close deals. We outline how to cultivate designers, builders, gallery owners, and peers so you’re the obvious recommendation when art is needed. Along the way, we unpack a counterintuitive win: small, high-touch experiences outperformed big events for profit and joy. Fewer seats, deeper connection, premium pricing—less burnout, better outcomes. We also make a case for the slow power of consistency over raw talent and show how deliberate skill development—critiques, classes, mentorship—translates directly into higher-value sales and a stronger portfolio.

If you’re ready to simplify, focus, and sell with integrity, this conversation gives you a practical roadmap you can start today. Pick two or three strategies, stack them with intention, and let relationships, structure, and steady practice compound your results. Subscribe for more artist business training, share this with a friend who needs clarity, and leave a review to tell us which strategy you’ll try next.

Learn more about the Created to Thrive Essentials Course at https://www.matttommeymentoring.com/essentials

Find out more about The Created to Thrive Foundations Course 

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SPEAKER_00:

So I just surveyed hundreds of my artist mentoring program students to find out what's actually making them money right now. And listen, I didn't ask them what they hoped was going to work this year for them. I just simply asked, hey, in 2025, where did the money come from in your art business? What was actually working? And listen, the results were really revealing. So hey, if you've been feeling overwhelmed trying to keep up with all the algorithms these days and just want somebody to tell you what's actually working right now in order for you to be able to successfully and consistently sell your art, you're going to love today's video because I'm going to share seven specific strategies that are working right now for artists just like you who want to make money with their art and make an impact in the world. And trust me, number four just might completely change the way that you're selling your art. So let's jump in. Okay, so the first strategy that I want to talk about that we saw all throughout this uh survey was teaching. Teaching showed up everywhere. And I'm not talking about just like formalized teaching. I'm talking about simple things like weekly classes or monthly workshops. People were teaching at senior citizens' community uh events, you know, and in senior citizens' homes. They were teaching in uh churches, they were doing community studio like open studios, they were teaching on retreats and weekend workshops. We had people that were teaching their art on Zoom. It just showed up everywhere. But listen, here's why it worked so well. Teaching not only positions you as an authority and it builds trust in a huge way, but it's one of those things you can plan out uh at the beginning of the year for the whole year and create consistent income, which keeps feeding you and bringing you business on a regular basis. For me, it's it's that's why it's been one of the top strategies that I've taught over the years, not only online, but also in person, so that artists can create consistent income. And I was just so excited to see my all my students taking that advice and actually actually doing that in their life. In fact, one of my students told me that the more that they taught, it didn't even feel like they were having to sell their art that much at all because they were building such great relationship with people that people were just asking to buy. They were asking to commission work from them. And that's just super exciting because I don't know any of us as artists that like to feel like we're selling all the time, like we're pushing our work. We want to build community and we want to do what we're doing authentically. And teaching is just one of those great, great places where not only are you making money, you're also making an impact, but you're also building your reputation, building a relationship with people. It's just a it's a win-win. And I think that's probably one of the reasons why it was one of the most popular items that we saw that people use to actually build money and build sales in their art business. Now, the second strategy I'm gonna kind of lump together, there are a lot of people that are doing things like galleries and juried shows and exhibitions and public art installations, and all of these things are sort of working with great strategic partnerships. Now, just in case you don't know what a strategic partnership is, it's doing business with anybody that's already in front of your ideal clients. So when you think about, for example, a juried art show or a gallery, they've already got the traffic, they've already got the buyers. The reason you want to be in relationship with them is so they can introduce you and put you in front of those ideal clients without you having to do all the work to go and find them yourself. These were people that were applying for gallery shows and exhibitions, uh, maybe retail juried shows. There were a lot of people in the in the community that had actually applied for public art installations or opportunities for public art commissions. And maybe that's something that you don't think about all the time, but most states have opportunities where you can apply to have your work either seen in an airport or a municipal facility, or maybe they're building a new facility and wanting to have public sculpture or public art actually included in that. And guess what? They've got budget for that. Regardless of what they were doing, I think one of the things that I thought was really encouraging about all of these is that most people that said they were had applied and gotten in to galleries or jury shows or these public art exhibitions or sales opportunities, it wasn't their first time doing it. In fact, many of them said I had tried two or three, four or five times. I had kept trying and kept trying and kept trying, and finally I got in. And when I got in, that kind of made it even more sweet, right? That that they were able to celebrate that. Not only was it making money for them, but it was giving them an opportunity to be in a higher echelon of sales opportunity, and it taught them a lot about themselves, of you know, not giving up when the, you know, when things didn't work out the way that that they thought they would automatically. And so I just have so much to say about selling through galleries, selling through jury shows and exhibitions. It's a way to elevate what you do, it's a way to get your work out there in a place that maybe people are not used to being. And it's a way that really helps you build that sort of internal grit that says, hey, if I don't get in it this time, I'm gonna keep trying next time. I'm gonna keep sharpening the axe, if you will. I'm gonna keep going after this until I achieve this goal. And when you do, man, it just makes it sweeter. Now, the third strategy was not a surprise to me at all because if I have to look back at my over 30 years of successfully selling my art and making a living and having the joy and the consistency and the fruitfulness and the creative fulfillment, it is absolutely this strategy of da-da-da-da, commissions. Lots and lots of our people said that doing commissions in their art business was a consistent way that they built a lot of great income in their business. And this was not only small commissions, this was portraits, this was murals, this was large statements pieces, you know, that were in commercial spaces, things that were in residential spaces. These were custom packages, you know, that they had they had put together at all different price points. But here's the deal the difference between artists who struggled with commissions and artists who were really thriving, you know, with commissions was both clarity and confidence. They had a clear structure for how they wanted to present themselves as a commissioning artist, and they had confidence in it. Now, this is one of the things that we talk a lot about in the Created to Thrive Artist mentoring program. I've been teaching people my methodology for getting commissions and doing commissions successfully without all the hassle that a lot of people have experienced. I've been teaching that for years, and they put these things in to practice this year. They had a clear pricing structure, they had a letter of understanding that they used that made the process really clear. They didn't apologize over and over and over for their pricing. They didn't drop their time frame or drop their price just to get, you know, the work. They had all of that laid out so that when they went to talk to a client about the commission, guess what? They were confident, they were clear. It didn't confuse the buyer. And guess what? When you're confident, when you're clear, people want to purchase from you. The other thing that I love about commissions, and I see my students talk about this all the time in the mentoring program, is that commissions gives you the ability to have consistent cash flow. When you learn to start spacing out your commissions, you know, a couple of weeks, a month at a time, whatever it is, you can start projecting your income. And listen, unless you think, oh, people don't want to wait on art, they won't buy it if I have a wait list. I found the opposite to be true. Actually, I found that if I tell somebody, oh, I'd love to get you on my commission list, but it's a three-month wait, it's a five-month wait, it actually increases their perception of you as an artist. And it's kind of almost that FOMO thing, that fear of missing out, like, oh, if if everybody wants it, then I guess I want to want it too. You know, and it raises the perception of you as an artist, not in a false way, but just in a way that lets people know, hey, I'm a good artist, people want me, and there's you can't just have it right now. You've got to actually get in line for this. And so commissions usually is a great way to raise your perception. It's also a great way that artists are able to raise their average price. Because most of the time I've found, and I think my students are finding the same, commissions are usually larger, they're usually more custom, and they're more expensive. And again, because people love the idea of doing work that's unique, they're willing to pay for that. And so again, it's a win-win all around for your schedule, for your pocketbook, for your for everything that you're doing, your perception as an artist. And I think why that's why it deserves a really important place here on this list of seven strategies that are really working right now, year in and year out, to help you make consistent income in your art. Now, before we go any further, I want to pause for a moment right here because if you're listening to all of this and you're thinking, hey, Matt, like this actually sounds doable. Like this is something I can actually make work in my life. Listen, that's not that's not an accident. What struck me as well as I read through all these responses is that none of these strategies that we're talking about today are super complicated, right? These were artists that weren't chasing hacks or trying to be everywhere to everybody all the time. They weren't guessing at what would work. They were following their numbers every month. They were using simple, proven strategies I've been teaching for years that actually work year in and year out, regardless of what's going on in the world. Listen, if you've been realizing that you've been complicating things over the years and you'd like a simple pathway to start selling or maybe restart selling your art this year with strategies that actually work regardless of your age or your creative medium or your experience level, where you are in the world, listen, I want to invite you to check out our Created to Thrive Essentials course. It's 10 simple lessons that walk you step by step through identifying your ideal client, your best sales opportunities, and simple marketing strategies that align with you in the season of life that you're in. Trust me, there is no fluff or a whole bunch of extra in them. It's just like the name says it's the essentials that you need to build a solid foundation for selling your art and having a kingdom impact that God created you for as an artist. Listen, if that sounds valuable for you, be sure to check out the link that's in this video and you can get started today. Now, this next one is probably the foundational core uh strategy that is at the heart of all the things that we're talking about today. And this is why I talked about earlier that this might be the thing that really changes the way that you do business. Listen, I've been creating and selling work over 30 years. I've been mentoring thousands of artists for over 17 years now, written all these books. I know how to market art. I know how to help artists sell their work successfully and consistently. And I can tell you, bar none, there is no more valuable and consistent way to sell your work than through referral relationships. Now, listen, nobody talks about referrals anymore, right? Because it's not sexy. It's not the hottest new thing to go viral and get a million views and all this kind of stuff. But I'm telling you, if I look back at my career and I look at the careers of artists who I have watched them for years and years build consistent, stable, and growing income in their art business, what's at the core of it? Relationships. And so almost every single sale, commission, or opportunity that people talked about on this uh survey that we did, it came through relationships. And listen, relationships that we often just take for granted. Things like our friends, people at church, through community events, uh classes. You think, did my students buy my work? Absolutely. Uh, strategic partners, right? Through builders, interior designers, gallery owners, other artists, right? Let that sink in for a moment. Social media can help with visibility. Your website, yeah, help with visibility and all that's wonderful. But nine times out of 10, again, for artists that I know every day that are selling their work consistently, it's relationships that close the deal. See, artists who stayed visible and consistent and kind and approachable and relational and that were networking, they are the artists that get remembered when people are looking to refer somebody to purchase some art or when they're looking to buy art for themselves. In fact, one artist told me that her art became a bridge, not just to a sale, but also to a connection that not only led to the sale, but also led to a ministry opportunity. And I just love that, right? I mean, that's kingdom fruit. That's not only God blessing us in our finances and our art business, but that's also bringing fruit through our relationships because we're just willing to step out there and love on people and do the right thing by people and build real relationships. Listen, that's where the kingdom uh really shows up. And so I just love for all of you out there that may be thinking, you know, uh it's either selling my art or it's kingdom impact, it's one or the other. No way. It's absolutely both. God wants to not only bless you artistically, he wants to bless you financially so that not only can you prosper, but also there can be an overflow to be a blessing for others. Now, I want to slow down for a second because this next one, number five, is super, super important, especially if you've ever felt stuck or discouraged or kind of feeling behind on your art sales journey. And listen, I know we've we've all been there at different times, maybe probably multiple times I have in my art business. But here's the strategy, and maybe it's even more of a principle, a guiding principle to understand is that consistency always outperforms talent. Consistency always outperforms talent. You know, it was the artist, again, reading this survey of hundreds of artists. It was the artists who simply chose to show up consistently. Good times, bad times, hard times, easy times, uh, really exciting times and boring times. Times where they felt creative, times where they didn't feel creative, times when the the sales were great, times when the sales weren't, you know, weren't great. Artists who simply showed up consistently saw momentum. Instead of instead of them always looking at the outcomes and well, this isn't exactly like I want. They just chose to measure their own faithfulness. Am I showing up in the studio? Am I talking to people? Am I connecting with the Lord? You know, some had health challenges, some had um, we had a number of people that had deaths in the family, so they had grief challenges that they were walking through. Other people said, Hey, this year was a lot slower than I thought. Other people said, Oh my gosh, this is so busy that I can't even feel like I'm in the studio. I'm selling so much. I'm trying to even find time to create. But out of all of that, guess what? They didn't just throw up their hands, they didn't quit, they didn't give up, they just showed up consistency. See that clarity that they've been looking for that we all want. Like, what should I do? How should I walk in this? How should I sell my art? What's the next step? That generally shows up as the fruit of your consistency. Every day when you show up in the studio, every day when you're cultivating relationships with people that really matter, every day that you're sharing your art, God leads us by the Holy Spirit and gives us clarity. And guess what? Confidence is the fruit of that consistency. Not only is clarity the fruit, confidence is the fruit. Why? Because as you begin to walk in the things that God's showing you every day and you're seeing the fruit of those things, guess what? Confidence builds in your heart. Not confidence in yourself, but confidence in God's word that says, Hey, I know your word says that as I'm faithful with little, you're gonna make me ruler over much. And God, even though I can't see all the results right now, even though it doesn't feel like it right now, I'm gonna keep walking and keep being faithful. Listen, we just saw that. Artists that showed up consistently are the ones that saw the fruit in their life. And so if I can cons if I can encourage you with anything this year, don't be an artist that's just doing fits and stops, just up and down and on this roller coaster. Commit to walk with consistency in your life. Now, real quick, if you're somebody that struggles with consistency and you love a daily rhythm, just real quick, you probably heard me talk about this before, but be sure to check out the core four focus planner. It's a daily planner, it's a 90-day planner with daily scripture readings, daily encouragements from me, but there's a daily four-part rhythm that I teach called the Core Four that's connect with God, clarify your priorities for the day, create in the studio, and cultivate relationships with people that matter. We walk you through that every day in the planner. It's super valuable. And it's been one of the core strategies that artists in my mentoring program point to that say, that's what gives me the ability to have consistency in my life. Check that out. The link's right down here in the video. Now, strategy number six is super interesting because I think it was one of the most surprising things to a lot of my students. It was sort of the opposite of what most people think. A lot of times when people think they're trying to scale and grow their art business, they think more, more, more, bigger is better. But number six is this small, high-touch experiences actually outperformed big events for my students. Now, I just think that's a really, really cool thing to understand. It's not always bigger is better. It's all not always more is better. These artists were actually looking at things that were downsized events, that their downsized events actually earned more. Why? They were doing smaller workshops and retreats and teaching opportunities and events with fewer students, more intimacy, higher prices, and less exhaustion. And so they stopped trying to reach everybody with their market, which is one of the things I teach all the time, right? Not everybody can be your customer, right? You got to choose who is your ideal customer, really understand who they are, really understand where they are and how to begin to interact with them to build relationships that lead to sales and then create opportunities for them, in this case, you know, teaching opportunities that really maximize the experience for them and for yourself. And guess what? My students found out that when they did less of those things, but charged a premium for it and really served their audience in a way that mattered, it was more profitable. And guess what? Instead of killing themselves, trying to do all of this, you know, 30, 11 different things all year long, they chose to do a few things, but really zero in on the right client, the right price, the right experience. It maximized their profitability. It maximized their joy and fulfillment. It reduced burnout. And listen, I think I'm just looking at that. I'm like, that's a strategy that wins every day, all day long. Because I don't know about you, but burned out artists are not thriving, right? Burn being burned out and working your fingers to the bone, you know, just for a little pennants of impact and income. That's not God's plan for us. God's plan, and I believe God's reality for us as artists is that we can absolutely be in a flow with Him and at the same time serve our people well, show up great in the market, have an impact, and at the same time have an incredibly abundant income that blesses us as well and allows us to be a blessing to others. Now, the last strategy is this, and again, it may be more of a principle than a sales strategy, but I'll just say this these artists found that skill development in their art actually led to more sales. And I know you may be Saying, well, duh, like if you get to be a better artist, you sell more art, right? Like, but but here's the deal investing in yourself is always a great idea. So these artists really prioritizing and quit apologizing for, quit feeling bad about paying for and investing in classes. They they did things like joining critique groups. Many of them said that being in the mentoring program actually helped them because we were giving them not only marketing advice, but we do art critiques every month. Like these practical things were helping them become an artist and become a better artist. They were learning from people that were ahead of them. They were actually pouring into those that were behind them. And so their work improved and sales naturally followed. So for all of you out there that are thinking, oh, I've learned everything I need to learn as an artist. I just need to get out there and sell and make money and do my thing and all that. Don't ever feel the pressure to remove yourself from the learning process. We're always learning, we're always experimenting. And I just think it's just a proven principle this year that artists said, hey, part of the reason that I sold more this year was because I took classes that I needed to take. I invested in my craft, in doing what I do artistically, and it was reflected back to me in sales. That's something worth remembering. So, as with every video here on the channel, I never want you to leave without having something actionable that you can do to make a difference in your life. And so today I want to encourage you to take a moment and look back at the seven different strategies that we've talked about today. All right. Was it referral relationships? Was it teaching? Was it galleries and juried shows? Was it commissions, or was it more the principles like consistently showing up, or small is the new big, or maybe investing in skill development? Which one of those, or which maybe few of those, can you begin to implement in your journey today to start making a difference in your life as an artist? Listen, nobody can do everything at once and never feel the pressure that I'm telling you to do everything at once, but it's when we choose through the leadership of the Holy Spirit and through by pursuing the knowledge that we need, it's it's that way by choosing selectively as the spirit leads, that's how we make progress. And we say, you know what? I feel like God's lead me to do that. I feel like I need to learn about that so I can take the next step and implement that into my business. Hey, let me know what that is in the comments because I want to know the things that I'm saying that are making a difference in your life. And here's the other thing if you're doing something in your business right now that you're saying, Matt, you didn't even talk about this. This is working really successfully for me. Let me know. All right. We've got artists from all over the world that are watching the channel, almost 50,000 subscribers now. Can you believe it? I can't. I mean, it's just incredible. But let me know in the comments because we love to celebrate that. I don't know everything, I know a lot, but I don't know everything. And we want to use this place as a place of collaboration so that we can encourage each other in all that God's called us to as artists in his kingdom. All right. Listen, my friend, I love you. I hope this encouraged the socks off of you today. I hope more than anything, though, you'll take this advice and start implementing it into your life. And of course, if we can help you along the way through the essential scores, the foundation scores, the mentoring program, the 4-4 plan, or whatever it is. Listen, you know I love you. I'm here for you. I want to support you in any way I can so that you can be all that God's created you to be. All right. So leave me a comment. Make sure you subscribe. Be sure to watch this next video. It's going to be a really big blessing. I know it is in your life. And remember, until next time, you were created to thrive. Bye.