If you are like me, 2025 has not been a fond year to remember, so many creatives (and I think, humanity in general) are looking for happiness in all that they can. For the queer community, we are striving to find happiness while battling in a world that seemingly could care less about our happiness.
For Jessica Schweitzer, the mastermind behind Pittsburgh’s own Happy Lil’ Canvases, her aim is to convey an overall sense of community during these times of unrest, with a little bit of Pittsburgh zest.
Founded in 2017 during her time at Westminster College, Jessica began to dabble in painting alongside her friend, who had started an Etsy account, and encouraged Jessica to get her business up and running. “She said I should make an Etsy, and I said – okay!” recalls Schweitzer.
When it came to naming her new project, Jessica had only one person in mind. “While I was painting for a little bit, Bob Ross came to mind – you know, happy little trees! So, we came up with Happy Lil Canvases”, states Schweitzer.
From painting little canvases, which Schweitzer states she hasn’t done in years, for her sorority sisters at Westminster, she began to get the idea of creating a more Pittsburgh-centered business during the time of some unexpected events.
When the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed in 2022, Schweitzer had an idea. “There was the sink hole bus, the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse, the Liberty Bridge fire – and I said all of these can be a toaster, so I painted them all on toasters. I went and posted on TikTok, in my early TikTok years, and it took off.”
Since that conception, Happy Lil’ Canvases has burst into the cultural Pittsburgh zeitgeist, conceptualizing a queer take on the city of steel, and its own Pittsburgh pride. With products ranging from bumper stickers, t-shirts, and calendars – there’s even a Chappel Roan prayer candle — there is something for each of Schweitzer’s fans.
For the 2025 QBurgh Pride Guide, QBurgh commissioned the cover by Happy Lil’ Canvases as an homage to the City of Steel. With the ever-present playful nature, there is a sort-of Queer Where’s Waldo of all things innately queer about Pittsburgh. “I wanted to make it cute, finding the little things that maybe you didn’t know about or maybe you could learn about within the Pittsburgh queer community and its history.”
The cover, like many Pittsburgh neighborhoods, helps to establish a sense of community. For Schweitzer, this is important, especially with the current events of 2025.
“I wanted to convey a sense of community within the queer Pittsburgh community, more than anything really. Especially now with the current political climate,” said Schweitzer.
Pittsburgh, whether it aimed to be or by accident, is undeniably queer, fostering a place of creativity, community and a little “Happy” sanctuary.
“I want Pittsburgh to feel like a safe space for everyone within the community…I know communities tend to have like, little niches within, but I just hope as a whole the LGBTQ community can come together always”.
