Skip to content

Arts

Read More ›

Seattle Artist Dozfy’s Art à la Carte

Spontaneous scribbler Dozfy leaves surprise gifts of art for restaurant staffs in Seattle and parts beyond

0317_artalacarte

This article originally appeared in the March 2017 issue of Seattle magazine.

Plenty of people doodle on restaurant menus, but artist Patrick Nguyen—who moved here from Atlanta in 2015—has raised it to an art form. “I would doodle on receipts. My friends would fight over the drawings,” says Nguyen, who goes by the professional name Dozfy (pronounced “dahz-fee”; instagram.com/dozfy). “A friend in the restaurant business mentioned that it would be better to just do it on menus.… I give it back to the restaurant kitchen staff as a token of my appreciation.” 

Recently, Dozfy, who studied art at the University of Texas at Austin, has artfully scribbled 10-minute masterpieces on menus at Red Mill Burgers, Toulouse Petit, The Whiskey Bar, Sitka & Spruce and more than a dozen other spots. He favors images of wildlife and nature, though if a dish inspires him to draw Darth Vader or a windmill, he will. 

Some compare him to the stunt artist Banksy, but Dozfy doesn’t crave anonymity and likes to present his work to food workers in person. “I have all sorts of reactions, but most of them are good. After all this time, the initial reaction when I ask for a menu and final expression when I finish are always fun. Also priceless.” 

Rearview Mirror: Spinasse at Home, a New Spa Experience, and Seattle Mag’s Reader’s Choice Awards 

Rearview Mirror: Spinasse at Home, a New Spa Experience, and Seattle Mag’s Reader’s Choice Awards 

Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).

YOUR VOTE MATTERS Everyone has a favorite restaurant, coffee shop, or local boutique. Call me old-school, but I will die on the hill that Caffe Vita has the best coffee in town. Disagree with me? Now’s your moment to speak up. Each year, we survey Seattle magazine readers, asking them to weigh in on everything…

Studio Sessions: Ling Chun

Studio Sessions: Ling Chun

The Seattle-based artist brings playful color to ceramics and neon while exploring memory, transformation, and life between cultures.

For Ling Chun, creating begins with something sensed before it can be named. Working with clay, glass, light, and sometimes synthetic hair, the Hong Kong-born artist gives physical form to things that words cannot always hold. “For me, the magnitude of making goes far beyond the object that is eventually produced,” Chun says. “The object…

The Magic of PAX Is Stronger Than Ever

The Magic of PAX Is Stronger Than Ever

PAX West draws more than 100,000 people to Seattle each year. Co-founder Jerry Holkins reflects on what the gaming convention set out to change, how its community has grown and why gathering face to face still matters.

Access to game news as it was happening was difficult back in the day. Even with the advent of the internet, communication between game publishers and journalists was still a very elite affair.  I used to fake credentials—via fax machine!—to attend the Electronic Entertainment Expo, mostly just known as E3. It was simultaneously as loud…

Your Guide to Bumbershoot 2026

Your Guide to Bumbershoot 2026

Navigate Seattle’s wildest end-of-summer weekend with 20 picks spanning Death Cab for Cutie, Blood Orange, wrestling, skateboarding and—obviously—movies made in 48 hours.

Four years after Bumbershoot returned with its quirkiness revivified, Seattleites broadly acknowledge the two-day multimedia extravaganza as a welcome finale to the summer festival season. Fests like Bumbershoot are designed around a choose-your-own-adventure model, but if you’re the kind of person who looked at this year’s sprawling lineup—featuring multiple bands, artists, and exhibits happening at…