This fine painting is now on view at the lovely Masur Museum of Art in Monroe, LA now through May 4, 2024 as part of a group show. Available to collect!
Oyster Booth
Oil on Canvas, 40″ x 48″
When I was a child, my father was a member of the Knights of Columbus. They operated an oyster booth as one of their fundraisers and used the proceeds for charitable work. It was most often set up in the parking lot at church fairs. I loved hanging around the booth, smelling the fried oysters and listening to the older men talk. I loved the oyster po-boys that I was occasionally given most of all. This painting was inspired by those memories.
One of the members was an older man who worked the fryer most of the day. As they were shutting down the booth for the night, he would dip a big piece of French bread into the still warm grease that had been used for frying oysters all day and eat it as a special treat. In the painting, the gentleman in the truck leaning on the counter was inspired by him.
I put the name J. Mouton on his name tag as a discreet nod to Jean Mouton, the founder of the city of Lafayette where I currently live.
