One-of-a-kind new paintings are on display at City Hall that show iconic Boise buildings including the Egyptian Theater, the Idaho Statehouse, and the Idanha building.  And they're a gift directly from the artist.

Boise artist John Taye gave twelve paintings to the City of Boise and they're now part of the Boise Visual Chronicle collection, which includes other paintings, drawings, prints, and photographs showing what life in Boise is like. You can see works from the collection at the Boise Centre on the Grove, Boise City Hall, CCDC’s offices and the Boise Airport.

Mayor Lauren McLean said the new paintings from John Taye that show scenes from Downtown Boise are part of a collection that helps show the impact that art can have in "shaping our perspective of the place we live and the values we carry."

KTVB shared an interesting quote from the painter that highlights how artists see scenes differently than the average commuter.  We might drive through Downtown Boise every day and not notice much besides tall buildings, brick, and windows, but John Taye sees it differently  "The downtown area is a somewhat chaotic place visually; I suppose that is the nature of any city, put together on a piecemeal basis," Taye said. "But at the same time, it is a very fertile place for a painter looking for colors, shapes, and textures."

To view John Taye's collection, click HERE.

If the goal was to leave the viewer wanting more, mission accomplished.  Most of the paintings show little bits of a larger picture and leave you wondering what's happening just outside the borders.  And that's one of the great things about art!  There's plenty of room left for interpretation.

10 Facts You Didn't Know About the Massive Boise Castle

Located at 1700 E Warm Springs Avenue, the "Boise Castle" was the vision of local entrepreneur, Dr. Timothy Barber. Barber helped launch several companies including ClickBank and Keynetics. It was sold to new owners in 2019, but thanks to the Internet Archive, we were able to dig up some cool "did you know" facts about one of the most unique buildings in Boise!

25 Boise Attractions That Are Essential to Visit At Least Once

When you live and work in Boise, it can sometimes be difficult to answer the question "so, what should I do when I'm in town" when you have visitors checking out Idaho's capital city for the first time? Trip Advisor ranked 107 "Things to Do in Boise" and these are the 25 attractions that rose to the top of their list!

10 Little Known Facts About Eagle, ID

Eagle has a history that started with the bald eagles, railroads, and a population of 350, and it has become one of the fastest-growing and sought-after places to live in the Treasure Valley. Some of the buildings that are still standing in Eagle today were built in the early 1900s, but it wasn't until 1971 that Eagle became a city. And the population of Eagle is now over 31,000.

More From Idaho’s Talk Station