Pike Road Arts Center painting the town

PIKE ROAD, Ala. (WSFA) - It’s a small building on a rural road in Montgomery County. But step inside, it’s an explosion of colors and creativity.

“This is the Pike Road Arts Center,” said founder Patty Payne. “It’s the home of the Water House Art Gallery. The reason we call it that is because we’re right next to the big water tower in Pike Road. It’s where people used to pay their water bill.”

After years of preparation and hard work, the Pike Road Arts Center opened in June of 2019.

It may look small from the outside, but walk through the doors of the Pike Road Arts Center and... — It may look small from the outside, but walk through the doors of the Pike Road Arts Center and you'll be impressed.(WSFA)

“Everyone comes in and is just amazed by the building. They say, ‘what a hidden gem you have here.’ We don’t want to be a hidden gem anymore,” Payne said.

For Payne, this is more than just a small building in Pike Road.

“It’s a way to bring the community together and I think the community is important.”

She came to Alabama in the late 90s, met her husband at Maxwell, and has been here ever since. She helped build this thing from the ground up.

“We represent over 80 artists in the building, that are all for the most part from Alabama. The majority of the art is realism, representing things people see. We have some abstract art, some folk art, and a room we call our gift gallery that has some crafty art,” Payne said.

It may look small from the outside, but walk through the doors of the Pike Road Arts Center and... — It may look small from the outside, but walk through the doors of the Pike Road Arts Center and you'll be impressed.(WSFA)

Her goal is to get you in the door, and they’ll take care of the rest.

“We want people to learn about art, we want people to do art, and we want people to share art.”

It really does have something for everyone, even if you have a request.

“One lady asked, ‘do you have an artist? I have a son at Auburn University in flying and I want to give him a special gift?’ Well, she’s picking this up today,” Payne said.

She’s ready for everyone to see these hidden gems and has her eye on the future.

“We just want more and to get bigger. But, we love what we have here,” Payne added.

It may look small from the outside, but walk through the doors of the Pike Road Arts Center and... — It may look small from the outside, but walk through the doors of the Pike Road Arts Center and you'll be impressed.(WSFA)

The Pike Road Arts Center is open Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and the first Thursday of the month from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. It’s free to walk around and you may find that perfect piece of art for your home. You can also check out its Facebook page for the latest classes and events.

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