Daily Inspiration: Meet Ethan Hoekstra

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ethan Hoekstra.

Hi Ethan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was a participating artist at what was then the Light Rail Gallery, I was also helping instruct paint and sip sessions. After some time, the owner, Alita wanted to pass the torch of owning the gallery to me. I was very skeptical and had no intention of taking her offer seriously. I told her I would think and pray about it. 

That night, I went through how impossible it would be for me to take on running a local art gallery, and I remember God saying you aren’t qualified as you say, but do you trust me? So, I took Him up on trusting Him through this journey. I said yes and began the gallery owner’s journey. I was blessed with a very gracious landlord; I took in all the things that come with running a gallery in manageable doses receiving counsel from several sources. 

The gallery then became “Ethan’s Gallery and Studio” making it through the pandemic, and the lockdowns. The provision over the gallery was supernatural. God kept the gallery standing and spreading beautiful local art to people who wanted something uplifting and mood-elevating in their homes. We accumulated more and more local artists, conducted private paint and sips, provided custom pet portraits, as well as artist-run workshops, and still do! 

Through all of this, I feel so privileged that in almost 5 years of being in business, I have received support from a very loving family, encouraging friends, and the grace of God! I hope and pray we continue spreading inspiration, support, and joy to the public with artwork from a variety of walks of life. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The struggles were mostly making enough money for rent through the first year. I received a lot of grace from my landlord that I would never have imagined, and with that, I went for it! I had an old acquaintance I knew from another gallery named Ryan who found my gallery, and we immediately partnered up; he helped with the layout of the gallery and turned it from a random assortment of different displays to a cohesive and organized setup. 

This made a big difference in intriguing people to come in as they were walking by. Ryan also designed Ethan’s Gallery and Studio Logo, which helped make the outward presentation much nicer. The ultimate challenge I faced was not thinking I had to do everything myself. Getting out of my way and let God provide, and others do what they are good at, and humble myself to allow others to help me and go with ideas that are better than my own. 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am an acrylic and oil painter; I love to paint landscapes, and animals and instruct painting classes. I am very well known for my vibrant colors and for creating very surreal landscapes, but mostly my custom pet portraits. 

I enjoy making people happy through my art by inspiring, uplifting, and encouraging them. The art game is a hard grind, and the gallery prides itself on exposing local talent to the public and helping aspiring artists reach certain goals they want to reach by guiding them in the beginning stages. 

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk-taking.
The biggest risk I took was taking in the gallery in the first place. I had $1500 to my name and rent was $2000 a month, I never owned or managed a business, nor did I have any skill in financing, books, or overseeing sales for multiple artists. 

For a moment I was going to pass up the offer to take ownership of the gallery. But I attribute my leap of faith to the verse in the bible that says, “Be anxious for nothing” (Philippians 4;6-7) – which is arguably intellectually insulting; but I felt this was something I needed to step out in. 

Though my concerns were well founded, to this day I couldn’t take any credit for the series of events that got me through a pandemic, no business plan, and inexperience. I simply trusted God with this venture, and He honored my choice by making it successful for His purposes. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ethangalleryandstudio.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ethansgalleryandstudioarvada/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ethansgalleryandstudio