Tony, born in Las Cruces to Carolyn Bunch and William Pennock, grew up gazing into the faces of artistic expression – his mother, an artist, and his father, a set painter in Hollywood. He saw what community involvement looked like.

“When I was young, I used to watch my mom do the living pictures,” says Tony of a time when art became a type of living history. “They would take great masterpieces and re-create them on stage. You never forgot those paintings. It was profound.”

The effect of what Tony saw stayed with him. Tony’s contribution to the community began in 1973 when he received his first commission to paint the water tower located on the Triviz walking path.

“I was a senior in high school and I asked the Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce if I could paint it,” Tony says of the water tank that depicts Don Juan de Oñate and the Spanish Conquistadors. “They said yes.”

From that mural, Tony went on to receive a bachelor’s degree from New Mexico State University, then spent some time studying architecture before teaching art at the University of New Mexico. Nothing, however, could keep him away from the place he grew up. “Las Cruces is easy to leave, but it’s hard to stay away from,” he says.

Tony has shown his appreciation for the area, painting nine murals in Las Cruces and the surrounding areas, creating the tile mosaic above the Las Cruces Public Schools sign, painting a mural in the District Court House and a wide variety of other pieces located throughout the area. More recently, Tony designed the mural in the Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum and is working on the tile for La Entrada exhibit at the Downtown Mall. To get other community artists involved, Tony heads a program where recycled vinyl billboards are covered with primer, then painted by artists of all ages. Once complete, the murals are hung along the fence where the new city building is underway.

Tony works from his studio on Mesquite Street – a building that years ago housed the Casa Mañana Bar. Now, each nook and cranny holds a piece of art and an air that reflects the character of past bar clientele, which Tony senses when he is in the room. It is when he works in this studio that Tony often contemplates the meaning of art. “I have spent many years wondering what art is, anyways,” he says. “It is color and texture, of course, all of that together to form something of beauty. In the case of my work, I think it shows a sense of community…a sense of unity.”

It is that unity that brings his work to the forefront of this community in public buildings, on the streets and around each corner. “There is still so much to do,” Tony says. “I am barely scratching the surface.” For that, those who love his work are thankful.