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!

Childrens drawing of two dolphins jumping from the water, each with a girl in a rainbow swimsuit on their back. A red pizza slice sun is in the sky above Zacharys Chicago Pizza Inc. Blue sky and water background.

Elena S, age 9

2012

My name is Elena and I am currently 10 years old.   I was born in Tokyo, Japan, but moved to America when I was 4.  I now live in San Ramon, and am about to graduate from Coyote Creek Elementary School.

Martial arts, drawing, and painting are my favorite hobbies. I also like singing and music and will keep continuing it until I am too busy. In martial arts ( karate),I am a brown white stripe belt. If I have any free time I would love to read, draw, or play video games (until my parents stop me).

I entered the Zachary’s art contest in 2008 and again in 2010 because I love drawing, painting and eating Zachary’s pizza.  I was so happy when my school received the $1,500 for the award in 2008.  That money was spent on the art program at Coyote Creek, and helped make the art very exciting all through out Coyote Creek.

Thank You Zachary’s!

elena

A man in a suit and bowler hat holds an umbrella, standing with his back facing the viewer. He gazes at an abstract artwork featuring dynamic red, black, and white swirls. The name Zacharys is at the top, with Its a matter of taste below.

The ConnoisseurHannah de Vries

2015

My name is Hannah de Vries and art has been my passion from a very young age. My entry was inspired by a famous Norman Rockwell painting called “The Connoisseur.” I alluded to the uniqueness of Zachary’s Pizza by making comparisons to the historical context behind Abstract Expressionism of the 1940’s, a subject that I have studied in school. I worked tirelessly for about three days at a wonderful art gallery called ArtU4ia in downtown Martinez to complete this piece. The most fun I had working on it was by far doing the drip pizza; I loved getting messy and wild with the house paint!

I always loved seeing the art that hung on the walls at the Zachary’s College location, and I aspired to enter their art competition for years! Once the Pleasant Hill location opened up closer to my home town, I finally took the opportunity to create something that I was proud to call my own.

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.

Childs drawing of Wild About with a zebra, crocodile, giraffe, flamingo, frog, and a palm tree. Two name cards: Zachary U. and Amber H. The animals are drawn in colorful, playful outlines against a light background.

Amber Huk

2007

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!

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 a boy looking up at a large pepperoni pizza. Text reads The Pizza of Your Dreams! with Zacharys vertically on the right. The boy wears a shirt with the Zacharys logo.

Raquel Royal

2011

Cartoon cat wearing sunglasses, sitting with a pizza slice as a bow tie. Speech bubble above says: Pizza on my mind, pizza on my face, Zacharys... always my favorite place! Background is a colorful abstract pattern.

Stephanie Kwan

2007

Illustration of a pepperoni pizza in a box with a red heart, set against a decorative red background. The text reads, Make Pizza Not War, in bold black and red letters.

Ian Ransley

2015

Berkeley-born and raised designer Ian Ransley loves Zachary’s Pizza!! Who in Berkeley doesn’t? But Ian has found a way to graphically express his admiration for the famous deep-dish, Chicago-style pies — not once, but a dozen times.

Ian grew up in the Thousand Oaks neighborhood (near the Solano Zachary’s). His mom still lives in the neighborhood house he grew up. Ian did spend some time away from his beloved Berkeley getting a design degree from UC Davis. In the years since he has designed for Chevron, HP, Cisco and of course, Zachary’s! For the past decade Ian has designed the stadium graphics for the Super Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and currently for the NHL Winter Classic in Foxboro.
Even though Ian has designed the stadium graphics for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Denver Broncos he is known as the guy who won the Zachary’s Pizza poster contest. Ian is a single Dad with two Zachary’s-loving boys, Dylan and Fabien.

SOLD in our 2018 Art Sale and Fundraiser!

A person wearing a straw hat is fishing from a cliff into a sea of pizza with large pepperoni. Strings of lights hang from the cliff. Blue sky and white swirling smoke fill the background. A red circle logo reads Zacharys Chicago Pizza Inc.

Mary Youm

2011

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

Childs drawing of a yellow dog wearing a blue collar with Zach on it, surrounded by two pizzas with slices. Zacharys is written in red at the top. A small Morgan 8 is written in the bottom left corner. The background is blue.

Morgan Marsh

2015

Illustration of a man in a pinstripe suit and hat holding a deep-dish pizza. Text reads The Capone of Pizza and Zachary’s Chicago Style. Speech bubble says, Dis pie here...just might blow yous away. Pizza images form a background pattern.

The Capone of Pizza

2007

David Loya

A vibrant painting of two exaggerated high-heeled shoes shaped like pizzas, with pepperoni and cheese. The text Zacharys appears twice, and Walking on Sunshine! is written in blue on a bright yellow background.

Close-up of a person wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, outdoors on a sunny day. They are lying on green grass with a slight smile, looking at the camera. The lighting highlights one side of their face.Zoe Boston

2017

“Walking on Sunshine” was inspired by my passion for food, visual art, and fashion. I love the challenge of combining the three to make tasty looking masterpieces. I believe Great food, great art and, great fashion have the power to uplift your spirits and truly make you feel like you’re walking on sunshine! I’m so pleased in knowing that my art was chosen to grace the walls of one of the best pizza places in the Bay Area.

SOLD in our 2018 Art Sale and Fundraiser!
A colorful illustration of a green alien with large yellow eyes standing in front of a spaceship. Text reads Take me to your pizza. A crescent moon and stars are in the sky. Artwork by Nadira, age 9. At the bottom, it says Zacharys is out of this world!.

Nadira Berman, age 9

2005

A colorful artwork featuring a green scooter with a pepperoni pizza slice as a wheel. The background is yellow with vertical stripes in red and blue. Text reads, Not just a pizza... A lifestyle. A circled arrow points upwards.

Stew Ellington

2017

My painting was inspired by a dual love for Zachary’s deep-dish spinach-and-mushroom pizza and vintage Italian Vespa scooters. I thought it would be a good idea to connect the two by making the front wheel of the scooter a deep-dish pizza. I had a lot of fun using bright, primary colors to imitate the style of Italian Vespa ads from the 50s and 60s. It’s so awesome to take part in this community tradition! Thanks, Zachary’s!

Illustrated poster titled Zacharys Deep Dish Pizza features a muscular man holding two steaming pizzas with World Famous and Champion on his belt. The background is red and orange with cartoon style typography.

Weightlifter

2005

Chuck Waite

Colorful abstract painting featuring the bold word Zacharys in gold against a blue background, with swirling patterns and bright shapes in red, green, yellow, and orange surrounding it.

Starry Night

2005

Beata Engl

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

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

Cindy Chan and daughter Marisa Ling

“.. 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

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