There was a buzz about a new French bistro opening up in Jack London Square. Left Bank Brasserie was doing well in San Francisco and wanted to expand their service to Oakland. Hey, any restaurant that wants to bring moules frites (mussel and fries) to Oakland is certainly welcomed here.
 |
| Left Bank Brasserie, Jack London Square Oakland, 3/2023 |
 |
| Moules Frites |
CoWaBunGA
Traveling between LA and the Bay Area, if you drive on Hwy 5, you will likely run across Harris Ranch Rest stop in Coalinga. Long time ago, it was a simple rest stop where you can get a good steak dinner as a treat for driving the six hour trip. Now, Harris Ranch is a resort with hotel, a runway for private planes, and Tesla charging stations.
 |
| Harris Ranch Restaurant, 03/2023 |
CoWaBunGA
UPDATE: I won! My "The Last Slice" will be exhibited at the Grand Avenue Zachary's Pizza! I want to thank my Family for being supportive of my art endeavors, for inspiring me to continue even when I didn't think I could, and Zachary's Pizza for this delicious honor.
We love Zachary's Pizza! What's special about Zachary's is that they display local art celebrating their Chicago-style pizza. Before the Pandemic, Natalie and I won the poster contest with our Game of Thrones themed entry. This year, I had to go it alone with this entry.
 |
| "The Last Slice" - entry for the 2023 Zachary's Pizza poster contest |
 |
| Study for Bella Ramsey |
 |
| Study for giraffe |
In the City of Monterey Park, we frequent a southern Cantonese-style dim sum restaurant NBC Seafood Restaurant, or we like to call it NBC dim sum. The variety and creativity of the dim sum dishes are fantastic. The interior design reminds diners of the fanciful Hong Kong dim sum houses.
 |
| NBC Dim Sum, MPK, 03/2023 |
CoWaBunGA
One of our favorite pizza joints in the East Bay is North Beach Pizza in Berkeley. Converted from an old IHOP restaurant, we have been dining here for many years since our kids were little. When we get our North Beach Special now, the waitress often asks us how our kids are doing in college.
CoWaBunGA
The DeYoung Museum in San Francisco is a great location for sketching and hanging out on a beautiful spring day.
 |
| Figure for the shrine of Oshun, Nigeria, 19th Century |
 |
| Getting the details right |
 |
| Tekoteko, Maori New Zealand, 19th Century |
Also, DeYoung is exhibiting Kehinde Wiley's "Archeology of Silence" show. It's a fantastic show with large portrait paintings and bronze sculptures. Kehinde Wiley's sculptural skills surprised me.
John at Fog City Java, Pacifica California, was very kind to invite me for another exhibit at this charming cafe in Pacifica. This is my 10th year exhibiting here and I love it. Fog City Java is my go-to-spot for sipping a mocha after a surf session at Linda Mar, and my first stop on my regular moto runs through the San Mateo mountains.
For this show, I am exhibiting recent lion dance paintings and construction watercolors.
 |
| Fog City Java, Pacifica CA |
 |
| "Aimee happy and angry lion" acrylic on canvas |
 |
| "Vince in mid-cat stance" acrylic on canvas |
