A local artist is making their way through San Francisco's most iconic landmarks in a growing oil painting series — and the results are genuinely stunning. The latest piece, an 8x8-inch oil on canvas, captures the Painted Ladies from an aerial perspective that makes Alamo Square look like something out of a Wes Anderson film. Previous entries in the series include Sutro Tower and the Golden Gate Bridge, each rendered in the same intimate, small-format style.

The artist says they're contemplating what to paint fourth, noting there are "so many icons of the city to choose from." We'd humbly suggest Salesforce Tower — not because we love it, but because we'd love to see someone make that glass rectangle actually look interesting.

Here's what's worth appreciating: this is grassroots culture at its finest. No grants committee. No Department of Arts and Culture approval process. No six-figure "community engagement consultant" billing the city to decide whether art is sufficiently inclusive. Just an artist, some oil paint, and a love for San Francisco's architectural identity.

And frankly, the city could use more of this kind of thing. San Francisco's cultural identity has taken a beating in recent years — between the exodus of artists priced out of their studios and the general malaise that's settled over downtown. Small projects like this remind people that the city still has beauty worth capturing and celebrating.

The Painted Ladies themselves, those famous Victorian homes along Steiner Street, have become almost cliché as a tourist attraction. But seeing them reinterpreted through a fresh artistic lens — from above, no less — strips away the postcard fatigue and makes you actually look again.

We'll be watching for number four. Our vote? The Ferry Building at golden hour. But honestly, in a city this photogenic, the artist can't really go wrong.