Pizza Art

We started an art contest in the mid-1980s and have continued the tradition every few years or so since then. We now have over 300 pieces of Zachary’s pizza art from the past three decades! The winning artwork decorates the walls in all five of our restaurants. We love the art and the artists and are excited and honored to be able to share some of the art on our website!

A mermaid with flowing blond hair reaches up toward a floating slice of pizza, with the words Hooked on Zacharys? above. She has a shimmering blue tail and is set against a dark, underwater background.

Katia Novak

2011

I grew up at Zachary’s Pizza. It was the first solid food I ever had as a baby, and it is an unspoken tradition in my family to go at least once a month. Since Zachary’s always had a special place in my heart, I thought I’d endear myself in return by contributing some of what I’m best at—art. I drew inspiration for my poster from my love of the sea and my childhood obsession with mermaids and magical things. I still respect my painting for what it taught me in terms of shadow and scale, but since its creation I’ve evolved. I’d like to showcase my new skills in another painting for Zach’s sometime in the near future.

See more of Katia’s talents here: https://katianovak.tumblr.com/

A whimsical painting of a blue anthropomorphic cat wearing a pink apron, holding a pizza, and standing near an oven. A purple cat and a green cat watch. A retro clock and the word Purrrfecto!!! are on the wall.

Marko Yamagata

2015

Silhouette of a howling wolf in front of a red crescent moon with the word Zacharys in red across the wolf. Perko is signed in the bottom right corner. Background is white surrounded by black.

Eric Perko

2015

Illustrated image of four circular pizza diagrams against an orange gradient background, each showing a different portion of a pizza missing. Text reads, Zacharys Chicago Pizza. The progression suggests the stages of eating a pizza.

Ryan Pera

2017

Besides my everyday fascination with the universe, galaxy, the solar system, the moon, and the sun, my piece, titled “Phases of Pizza”, was inspired from watching my nephew put in work, like a real artist, when push comes to shove, with two days to work before the deadline of this contest. While waiting to be seated at the College Ave location, my nephew eagerly asked me if I had a piece of paper and a pen. I did, since I never leave home without my small sketchbook and pen. His ideas were flowing. Everyone loves pizza, I mean everyone… but to witness a kid, at the age of eight, not wanting to finish his pizza, only because he wanted to win his first art contest (with the prize of more pizza and having his artwork hang on the walls), was honestly my true inspiration through making this piece.

Editor’s note: Ryan’s nephew, Jalen, was also one of our winners! See our blog about Ryan and Jalen for more information.

A childs drawing with a princess wearing a green crown, holding a pepperoni pizza slice. Text reads: Zacharys pizza I love you, I love you!!! Princesses love pepperoni pizza! Signed Eva Joseph, Age 4.

Eva Jaeger, 4 years old

2005

When I created this piece my family had moved from Berkeley to Manhattan for a year. When I look at this piece now it conjures up all the emotions of those moments: a longing for home and familiar things like Zachary’s, the excitement and adventure of being somewhere unknown and the joy of knowing that I’d be back to have some pizza soon. And of course, I was 4 and loved Princesses!

My inspiration for this piece was all the things I loved. Princesses, pink, big art and pizza. I actually didn’t really like Pepperoni (truth be known) but the alliteration was too good to pass up! The process I used for this piece was to draw it on a smaller piece of paper and then spread out on the floor, with all my markers tossed around, and the paper taped down. Shoes off and spread across the whole thing I sketched by pencil and then dried out just about every marker pen filling in the spaces. My brother, who was in 1st grade at the time, was also drawing next to me. His poster actually was awarded an Honorable Mention and I was happy to be creating our pieces together.

This may be the peak of my artistic recognition. Since that time the pieces I’ve created are much smaller and much more private, rarely venturing into public space. I like to express my creativity in crafts, writing, on the stage and on the soccer field. And my love for Princesses and pizza have also become a bit more subdued as I pursue higher ambitions than just being royalty. The thing I haven’t changed since then is a love for Zachary’s pizza. Just finished one a minute ago!

Bold, colorful poster for Zacharys Pizza showing a slice of pizza over a red circle, with Since 1983 beneath. The background is dark, and the text is bright yellow and red.

Lindsey Rosellini

2012

SOLD in our 2018 Art Sale and Fundraiser!

A colorful painting features a Bigfoot holding a large white sign with a red crescent. Bigfoot walks beside a tree labeled Zacharys with a backdrop of a river, trees, and cloudy sky. Flowers and mushrooms decorate the foreground.

Todd Paoletti

2009

Illustrated poster for Zacharys Chicago Pizza. A red bicycle with pizza wheels is set against a landscape with greenery and a tall clock tower. BERKELEY CALIFORNIA is written at the bottom.

Red Bike on Campus

2009

Carolyn Jaegar

A handwritten note on lined paper reads: Dear Zachary, My heart beats for your Chicago style pizza. I wish I could be with you every day. Would you like to go out with me? There are checkboxes for Yes and No. Its signed love, Maia.

Maia VuMinnich, 9 years old

2011

Slice

2012

Guillaume Ollivier

A blue background with the name Zacharys in large white letters at the top. A cartoon character on a ladder reaches for a pizza slice among many red and orange pizza slices and circles hanging down.

Nikola Bachman

2012

Hi my name is Nikola. I just graduated from high school this past June. While attending high school, I was also taking art classes at Berkeley City College. I’m currently enrolled in my fourth art class at BCC. I’m drawn to Japanese animation and graphic novels. Someday I’d love to visit Japan. Drawing older architectural buildings using a realistic cartoon flare, is one of my styles as small details are important to me. I’m a cat lover at heart therefore the kitty in the painting that I drew for Zachary’s was inspired by my own cat Jackson, even though they look nothing alike. It was the first time that I’ve entered one of my art pieces into a contest. I was happily surprised to have won! This was the third time however, that I’ve had my art up for public display. Another important project of mine is writing a graphic novel. The title, story line and illustrations are all my own and I hope to be published someday. I like going out to eat with my family. Our favorite spot for pizza is Zachary’s. We always order the Chicago deep dish, with mushrooms and spinach. Yummy!

A colorful poster for Zacharys Deep Dish Pizza features a muscular, cartoonish character lifting two steaming pizzas like weights. The words Amazing, Stupendous, World Famous are above Deep Dish Pizza. The character wears a Pizza Champ belt.

Chuck Waite

2005

Rianne Myers

2015

Mary Youm

2011

Illustration of a smiling figure resembling a Buddha holding a pizza slice on a string. The figure sits with a box labeled Zacharys Chicago Pizza, under a red Zen circle with the word Zen inside. Text reads Zacharys Chicago Pizza Inc.

Tom Galvin

2009

Illustrated poster of Zacharys Pizza with two pizzas on motorcycles racing along a desert highway. The pizzas have sunglasses and wheels made of pepperoni slices. There are cacti and hills in the background.

Lynn Smull

2005

A retro-style illustration of a woman with a shocked expression, hands on cheeks. Text reads, AARGGHHHH you didnt order Zacharys?! in bold, varying fonts.

Cindy Chan

“.. we love Zachary’s Pizza; it’s the best, combined with the high energy of the staff and how everyone seems to be having a great time, it’s like a party that never stops.” – Cindy Chan

Silhouettes of two men in a dramatic noir-style setting. One holds a steaming pizza at a doorway, while the other stands in a spotlight. Text reads Its in the Pie. The background suggests an urban night scene.

Pete Davis

2001

Illustration of a person with exaggerated features eating a slice of cheesy pizza. The background features the text Zacharys Chicago Pizza. The person wears a green shirt and holds a pizza slice and a deep-dish pizza.

David Seiler

2001

Cartoon of a person in blue overalls and a cap walking with a large pizza on their head. They are next to a brick wall with a Zacharys Chicago Pizza sign, and the text Keep on Cookin is above. A yellow fence and houses are in the background.

Larry Holstrom

2007