I believe that everyone has (at least) one thing that they collect from every place they visit or every place they live. Some people collect keychains or shot glasses or postcards. Sometime while Brandon and I were living in Harrisburg, PA, we decided that we would collect paintings of state capitol buildings from the places where we lived.
It started when we were looking for antique stores in the Harrisburg area and walked into what we thought was an antique store (well, it was an antique store according to Google Maps) but was actually a framing shop that also sold local art. I saw this painting of the Pennsylvania capitol building and had to have it.
As much as I often disliked living in Pennsylvania (central PA has a lot more in common with the South than it does with Philly), I absolutely loved the capitol complex. Pennsylvania has a ridiculously large state government and as a result, the capitol complex is huge and sprawling and gorgeous. The dome is green and gets lit up different colors for different occasions and there’s a park around the capitol building filled with the huge trees you can see in the painting. So naturally, we bought the painting and then realized we had lived in another state together as well!
Since Brandon and I met in college (and because our college, Willamette, is literally across the street from the state capitol where we both worked), we wanted a painting of the Oregon state capitol building. So I called my sister–she’s an artist and here’s a shameless plug for her art–and asked if she would paint the building for me. After we agreed on a price (PAY ARTISTS ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY’RE YOUR FRIENDS OR FAMILY), she made me this one! I love the details she included in the painting. The Golden Man that every Willamette student looked to the sky to find when they were lost coming home at night. The star trees on the right side–huge pine trees at Willamette planted so that when you stand in the middle and look up, it looks like a star. And a cherry tree that the capitol park is lined with since Salem has a sister city in Japan that gifted them what seems like a million cherry trees that rain pink in the spring.
Ever since I moved to DC I’ve been trying to find the right painting of the Capitol to be the next one in the collection. Now since this is the nation’s capitol, Capitol paintings are a dime a dozen, but I still haven’t found one that feels right. I noticed that I unintentionally have a fall painting and a spring painting so it seems fitting to get a winter or summer one of DC, which somewhat narrows the search. I’ll be sure to let y’all know when I find the right one to add to the collection.
Is there any specific place you think I should look for my painting? Is there something that you collect from the places that you’ve lived?
xoxo,
J
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