Wild Pigments Art Studio, Downtown Klamath Falls. (Brian Gailey)

“Everybody has talent, there is no right, there is no wrong. It is just art.”

— Julie Thomson

Located in downtown Klamath Falls, is a magical place that will help you escape from your day to day stress, relax with the girls and on some nights enjoy a bit of wine with your painting. Wild Pigments Art Studio is a place for creatives to express themselves with a bit of guidance and education.

Basin Adventures is presented by the Klamath Falls KOA Journey and brings you this story on Wild Pigments Art Studio.

Julie Thomson, owner and art teacher has a rich history painting. 26 Years ago Thomson sold the exact same business in Santa Rosa, Calif. to open a toy store and never painted again. That is, until 3 years ago. When Thomson experienced a decline with instore, toy sales and the uptick of online sales. That is when she picked up a brush and rekindled her passion for painting. Soon after, she closed her toy store and opened Wild Pigments Art Studio right here in Klamath Falls.

“It is just so rewarding to see that people that did not know they had a skill,” states Thomson. “I get a lot of - all I can draw is a stick figure, or I have no talent. That’s not it. You were just never taught, you were not shown where do I begin.”

“Everybody has talent, there is no right, there is no wrong. It is just art,” exclaims Thomson.

Thomson teaches in a style that is like a guided tour to painting. Thinking and teaching in painting layers. Where after three to five visits, the lightbulb clicks in the artist and they just know how the paint works, how it takes to the canvas, how colors blends and painting becomes more fun.

Full disclosure, I, Brian Gailey, Publisher of Klamath Falls News was invited to attend a painting class to see what the buzz was all about. At first, I did not know what to expect but quickly settled in.

I chose to attend the class with my wife on an afternoon where we were to paint the northern lights.

Class began as they all do, with a blank canvas. Thomson shown the class of near thirty, a sample painting that we were to use as inspiration. Then she shown us how to get started. Using a large white wall in the studio, as if it were a large canvas. It made it easy for everyone to see.

We were instructed how to start with background elements and paint and blend colors to create a wispiness to the flow of the colors. The class continued from a pond, to colors of the lights, to night sky, then trees and completion.

Outside of art class in school, this was my first painting class for both my wife and myself and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Wild Pigments offers many different classes to choose from and couples those classes with an unlimited pallet of inspirational artwork. There are couple’s classes. Wine and paint classes. Classes for teen girls. Classes for youth and open classes for everyone.

Cost for the classes start at just $20 per student. But can vary depending on the art being created and the size of the canvas used.

For more information and a complete schedule of upcoming classes, visit the Wild Pigments Studio Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/wildpigmentsstudio/

More photos

Basin Adventures is brought to you by the Klamath Falls KOA Journey. Centrally located, the Klamath Falls KOA Journey is the perfect jump-off point to visit all the spectacular recreation sites of the Klamath Basin

Including: Crater Lake National Park, Lava Beds National Monument, wildlife refuges, hiking, biking, fishing and so much more.

Visit http://koa.com/campgrounds/klamath/ for more details and to book your next adventure base camp.