





Temescal Now by Brian Brooks. Visit the main drag of Oakland’s Temescal Neighborhood with my meticulously illustrated guidebook Temescal Now. Explore detailed maps and iconic business logos along Telegraph Avenue, captured by a 25 year resident of the neighborhood. Perfectly pocket-sized and discreet, this guidebook is a must-have for local residents and visitors alike. Available at the Pillowgoat Book Shop. Stay tuned for an expanded 2024 update.

Local Artist, Local Art What started as an activity to get off the computer in the early evenings, turned into a multitude of demented documenting projects based on my immediate neighborhood that I have lived in for 25 years. My neighborhood projects began innocently enough through plein air paintings documenting the changing neighborhood (2014-2020), and later took a turn into the unknown through road construction documentation (2021-2022), and mapping and surveying (2020-2022), and is now settled on what I call Temescal Now, a booklet documenting local businesses (2022-2024). Parts of these projects have been published as zines, brochures, and videos. Brian Brooks Art Institute
Middle Of The Road Drawings is a series of time-lapse videos documenting my work documenting the traffic islands being installed along Telegraph Avenue, in my neighborhood. These fast-paced videos were recorded with just a tripod and myself and a clipboard and index cards and ballpoint pens. In addition to drawing the drawings, the videos were filmed and edited in a single evening, with soundtracks, sound effects, and graphics added as well.
Bus Stop Build-Out Construction Drawings are a series of time-lapse videos documenting my work documenting two bus stop build-outs being installed in my neighborhood. These fast-paced videos were recorded with just a tripod and me, trusting that no one would steal my equipment as I ventured sometimes a block away, and looking like a fool in every way. The videos were filmed and edited in a single evening, with soundtracks, sound effects, and graphics added the same day.
Hooper’s Loopers is a series of short improv time-lapse videos with sound effect and soundtracks developed in 2018-2019. Each video begins and ends with the artist facing a door alongside the back lot of Hooper’s Chocolates, a vacant chocolate factory.

Temescal Now 2023 Available for Purchase at the Pillowgoat Book Shop
24 page paper booklet with staple binding. Stamped inside with date of printing, signed and assembled by the artist. 2 3/4 in. x 4/14 in.
A meticulously illustrated publication featuring maps and drawings collecting the neighborhood’s current business logos and icons along Telegraph Avenue from 40th Street to 52nd Street. This stretch represents the bustling epicenter of the Temescal Neighborhood in Oakland, California.
Temescal Now
Exploring The Marvels Of The Temescal Neighborhood
Temescal Now Vol. 2
Published October 2023.
Temescal Now Vol 1
Published June 2022.
Instagram Account
@temescalnowÂ
Merch Shop:
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Temescal Now is an annual periodical focused on the Temescal District in North Oakland, California. The publication highlights the area along Telegraph Avenue, from 40th Street to 52nd Street, encompassing a vibrant stretch of shops, restaurants, and bars. Each issue documents both new and longstanding businesses, with faithfully reproduced logos and detailed illustrations of road designs and building facades. The zine is fully illustrated in black and white by artist Brian Brooks. An accompanying Instagram account further showcases the district’s ongoing visual evolution. Follow @TemescalNow on InstagramPurchase Temescal Now zine booklet in our online shop.

I began plein air painting after being introduced to the concept by Mr. Let’s Paint T.V.’s John Kilduff. One session with him gave me the confidence to stand out on the street and paint the neighborhood.
I began by painting the businesses, concentrating on ones that were about to vanish, through going out of business, or by demolition. When it finally came time for them to tear down the building across from Smokey’s Tangle, the building that we stared at every day, the one that housed both Gallery, and Rise Above, with it’s Weed Cookie Shop, this lead to a devotion of series where I decided to document the process of demolition and construction, of a rebirth of the space.
I grew up watching This Old House. I would still watch them, if I had a T.V.. I do follow them on Instagram. Anyways, I am familiar with the entire process through watching that show for decades.
I began a nightly series of documenting the day’s contractors and construction crews. I brought a step stool to get a vantage point over the fence. More Here: Brian Brooks Art Institute

Documenting road construction projects along Telegraph Avenue 2020-2021. Through series of nightly plein air drawings, and self-portrait time lapse videos taken with a tripod.
