Bon Temps Tony

New Orleans Painting #9 
May 2011
Acrylic on canvas - 16" x 16" 
$875 - SOLD

Diary entry: Most nights I'll swing by a local bar called Le Bon Temps Roule (French for "Let the good times roll"). It's a real down-n-dirty shack with 2 rooms - a front room with a large bar and 2 pool tables and a back room with a smaller bar and an intimate performance space where you can see a lot of the local music talent. The back room gets ridiculously packed and stiflingly hot. I can only hang there a little bit before I seek cool refuge in the front room and enjoy a game of pool.

I've spent A LOT of time playing pool here. In fact I'm eager to get my own stick when I get back and get more serious about learning the finer points of the game - that's how much I've been playing. Half the games I've played have been against the man I've depicted in this scene. I only know him as Tony. 9 times out of 10 Tony's at the bar playing pool. He's a kind, gregarious guy with a hearty laugh and a modest disposition. He plays competitively but he always keeps it fun. 

As a fellow Cuban by heritage and a born and bred New Orleanean I thought Tony was a perfect choice for inclusion in my series, especially in a setting where I've spent so many drunken nights during my time here