The McDonald’s Suite
Telegraph Avenue & 45th Street
November 2019 to February 2020

I named this The McDonald’s Suite, as McDonald’s appears in all three, though there are other businesses, some even closer by and included in the paintings, including: Kasper’s,  Hooper’s, Jack In The Box, Reed Brothers (now Root’d, Rent-A-Relic, and VCA Animal Hospital.

I painted these three paintings in an attempt to capture the intersection of Telegraph Avenue and 45th Street, an intersection and street that was going to be changed with the Telegraph Avenue Road Design and the closing off of Shattuck connecting to Telegraph Avenue.

45th & Telegraph
March 2019

Pllein air painting by Brian Brooks. I painted this over the course of 9 days underneath the Jack in the Box at Telegraph Avenue at 45th Street, March 10 – March 19, 2020.

I painted these three paintings at the end of 2019 and into 2020, which a nice warm early spring, and the plein air painting weather and street light was just awakening…  just as the Covid-Pandemic was taking hold. These three paintings capture the sight of the future Pedestrian Plaza, and capture Telegraph Avenue before the major road redesign, and at the very end of pre COVID Pandemic life in the Temescal neighborhood. An end of an era.

Temescal Wash & Dry Parking Lot & Surrounding Sidewalk
Telegraph Avenue & 49th Street
April 2019

Temescal Wash & Dry Parking Lot and Surrounding Sidewalk, Acrylic paint on watercolor paper, 9 X 12 in. East side of Telegraph, south of 49th Street, Oakland. Plein air painting, April 2019

This is the location of where I have done every load of laundry for the past 20 years. 47th Street & Telegraph, it is now known as Temescal Wash & Dry. The neighborhood’s only Dry Cleaner used to be located in what is now 9 Round and Marigold.

I don’t always create digital illustrations of my plein air paintings… but when I do, this is it.

Telegraph Avenue Between 51sth & 49th Street
Telegraph Avenue & 48th Street
March to April 2016

Five of the six plein air paintings making up the series of the architectural façcades, and (stretched-out arial views of) the sidewalk on the east side of Telegraph Avenue, block from  51st Street to 49th Street, Oakland. Painted over the course of a few weeks in March and April, 2019.
Painting 4 of the 6 paintings making up thethe series East Side Of Telegraph Avenue Block Between 51sth & 49th Street Acrylic paint on 9 in. x 12 in. watercolor paper.

4700 Telegraph: Construction
Telegraph Avenue & 47th Street
February to December 2018

4700 Telegraph series 36 paintings.of the modular 5-story condo development being built on the east side of the 4700 block of Telegraph Avenue. Painted plein air between  February and  December, 2018.

4700 Telegraph: The Empty Lot series
Telegraph Avenue & 47th Street
Jun & July 2017

The Empty Lot series, 2017
36 paintings
9” x 12” acrylic paint on paper
Jun – July, 2017
The Empty Lot series, 2017
36 paintings
9” x 12” acrylic paint on paper
Jun – July, 2017

Studio Paintings | The Ghost Ship Series
February – June 2017

Ghost Ship series, 2017
A series of abstract paintings in memory of the thirty six people  lost in the Ghost Ship warehouse fire  in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland which took place on December 2, 2016.
36 paintings acrylic painting s on 18 in. x  24 in. watercolor paper. Painted February to June, 2017.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      4700 Telegraph: Demolition series
Telegraph Avenue & 47th Street
June – July 2016

The Empty Lot series, June – July, 2016. This series documents the demolition of the buildings on the 4700 block of the east side of Telegraph Avenue to make way for a condo and retail unit, 2016.

Yellow Van Series
Telegraph Avenue & 47th Street
July to August 2016

Yellow Van Series, July 3, August 21, and August 23, 2016. Three views of Erika’s iconic yellow touring van which was a neighborhood mainstay in the mid 2010s.

Colorful Temescal series
July to November 2016

The Colorful Temescal series, July – November 2016

Telegraph Avenue & 48th Street
August 2016

Telegraph Avenue and 48th Street. August 2016

 The Brignole Building series
November 2016

The Brignole Building, 7 paintings, Acrylic paint on watercolor paper, 9 X 12 in. West Side of Telegraph Avenue between 47th – 46th Street, Oakland. Painted November, 2016
Brignole Building number  3 of 6 in a series of paintings of the perimeter of the Brignole Building painted  by Brian Brooks November 2016

Plein Air Paintings
Telegraph Avenue 45th Street – 51st Street
2014

Brian photographed during a rare nighttime plein air painting, 2014. Photograph by Emily Wick. A selection of paintings. Brian included his blank canvas and easel top into the paintings themselves, to give the view that the artist saw.
The collected Plein Air Paintings by Brian Brooks completed from June – Decemeber 2014.

Brian’s Plein Air Paintings on Google My Maps

A Work In Progress:

I have begun to place some of my projects onto the above interactive map hosted by Google My Maps. You can view this map full size and zoom in – to see a selection of my plein air paintings and a few drawings.

The color shaded shapes on the map show the vantage point view from where I painted each painting.