#449 Memory #449
by William Lum
Title
#449 Memory #449
Artist
William Lum
Medium
Painting - Watercolor
Description
This is my watercolor painting of Eastern Bakery at 720 Grant Avenue, San Francisco, California. This painting was for the theme of Memory for the 60 day and 60 theme Isolation Art Challenge. I grew up in San Francisco’s Chinatown and my adoptive mother, Jean Lum, worked as a waitress at Eastern Bakery in the 60’s through the 70’s. Jean was only four foot six inches but she was a hard working lioness with a very big heart. My sister, Cynthia, also worked part time there behind the bakery counter in her senior year at Galileo High School. My mother would sometimes bring treats home from the bakery like pineapple turnovers, lemon tart pastries (with a cherry on top), sesame balls, and custard tarts. For a few years in the 60’s we lived in an apartment only 100’ feet away from this bakery.
Eastern Bakery is the oldest bakery in Chinatown and it first opened in 1924. One half of the business was a diner (now gone) serving American food and the other half a bakery which had the usual American bakery items along with traditional Chinese pastries. The coffee crunch cake was in the style of Blums, a sweet sponge cake, covered with rich mocha cream and tasty coffee crumbles. The bakery was best known by locals for its traditional Chinese mooncakes. In the old days, mooncakes were usually made in Asia and shipped to the US loaded with preservatives to survive the 19 days of shipping. During World War II, Eastern Bakery adapted and made their own mooncakes and still do so today. A sign at the store says “The Only Moon Cake Made in America.” There are several varieties of Mooncakes made by this bakery and they are traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Mooncakes are offered between friends or at family gatherings while celebrating the festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the four most important Chinese festivals.
Just my personal opinion, some mooncakes are an acquired taste. I would prefer a pineapple turnover, custard tart, or coffee crunch cake instead. I still have fond memories of those bakery goods and of course it reminds me of my mother.
This 15” X 22” watercolor was done on Arches, 140 lb, rough paper.
Uploaded
October 30th, 2020
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