Taye, a Boise artist, recently gifted 12 works to the City of Boise. The series of paintings titled, “City Shapes: A Painter’s View of Downtown Boise,” depicts the ever-evolving downtown environment.

Funded by a grant from Boise State University in 1979, Taye captured the contrasts of downtown Boise. The old buildings with their browns, reds, and oranges contrasting with the grays and blues of concrete, glass, and steel buildings, and vertical and horizontal forms, Taye said. Touches of bright colors appear in signs and storefronts, with a recurring cloudless blue sky.

“The downtown area is a somewhat chaotic place visually; I suppose that is the nature of any city, put together on a piecemeal basis. But at the same time, it is a very fertile place for a painter looking for colors, shapes, and textures,” Taye said.

The paintings aren’t cartoonish or over the top but the way Taye interrupts giant machinery still makes them seem large and imposing.

“City Shapes” is another addition to the Boise Visual Chronicle collection, which serves to represent and preserve prominent local artists and artworks.

“I still see things that would be fun to paint,” Taye said. “I don’t think I will paint them but the possibility is there.”

Taye’s paintings are now on view in the Boise City Hall Lobby, open during regular hours. The public may also browse the works online at boiseartsandhistory.org/explore/collections.