Meet Owen Klaas of Fiendish Thingies

Today we’d like to introduce you to Owen Klaas.

Owen, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’ve always had a love for art. I was constantly drawing and sketching as a child. In my early 20’s, I started getting serious about sculpting and working on getting my name out there which was greatly helped by a few celebrity clients.

About 8 years ago, my wife encouraged me to start painting. I was resistant at first but after a year, I gave it a try and found a love for expressing my feelings through paintings. I was able to get ideas across that I was never able to do with sculpting. We started exhibiting at art shows in Southern California while we both worked part-time jobs. My wife stopped working cause we were about to have our third child and right before one of my shows I accidentally took off the end of my finger in a gardening accident and because of this my part-time job was no longer an option. With my wife and I out of work, it was at the point that we decided to give this art business 100% of our effort. Within the month, it had grown to the point where we were able to support all 5 of us and has continued to grow since.

Now, we travel the entire west coast as a family exhibiting my work. We’ve done several shows in California, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Arizona and Colorado. We hope to grow the list soon. I’ve been fortunate to be able to do magazine covers, album covers and book covers. I have also enjoined doing tattoo designs and murals.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. First off, we travel and do all of our shows with three children while homeschooling them. My son Ezra is 4 now and he was at his first show when he was a week old. We’ve encountered bad weather, car trouble, flat tires, theft, angry neighbors, shows that are misrepresented, sicknesses, injuries, damaged product and anything else you can imagine. Because my art is basically a journal of things I have experienced or gone through, most of the feelings brought on my these experiences find their way into my paintings.

Please tell us about Fiendish Thingies.
I am a painter and sculptor. I specialize in a surreal style in both mediums. My work represents hope in a dark place and I’m known for balancing the line between darkness and beauty. One of the things I am most proud of is that my work has meaning behind it. Every piece is illustrative and is either conveying an idea, thought or emotion. I title my pieces to give a hint as to what I was thinking when I created them. I am extremely proud of the fact that my art connects with people and sometimes brings out emotions. I’m not great at speaking but I love that I can connect with people through my art. I’m proud of watching my business grow every year and I love that I support my family doing something that I am passionate about.

Some of the things that I believe that sets me apart are that I am completely self-taught and that my wife and I have always had a crazy drive to accomplish our goals.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
First of all. I would have found a way to grow the business and take that leap without snippin’ off the end of my finger which has caused permanent damage. I would have started out with more confidence, more selective with shows and more selective with opportunities that were given to me. Most of the experiences have helped me and made me who I am.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.FiendishThingies.com
• Phone: (909) 205-2465
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @FiendishThingies
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/fiendishthingies/

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.