Once upon a time, I owned a bar. It was a loud pub on the weekends and quiet retreat on the weekdays. It was the kind of place where regulars became family and I’d give them a ride home. I have a plethora of memories attached to this location. Most are good, some quite funny, and others are too ugly to mention here.

One of our regulars was an artist. In fact, we had a few regulars who were full-time artists. This one would come in and draw while enjoying a PBR. If they didn’t have a sketchbook, they’d grab a sheet of whatever paper was laying around the bar that night and draw over top of it. Often I’d find former notes covered in bits of leaked creativity. We even started a bar patron sketchbook as a direct result of the number of talented folks we had come through.

This is one of my favorite drawings. It’s of me, likely a well-deserved title (at the time), and best of all, it’s painted using M&Ms. I’m not sure who had the idea first, but when it caught on I was passing out mason jars made for wine, repurposed for separating colors on, the regular. I don’t know what happened to most of the sketches, I managed to save this single one. It’s framed and hangs in my apartment. There was a point in time when I couldn’t look at things from the bar without dwelling on the bad memories. The ending was so painful, it was all I could see. I’ve grown beyond that and can view these pieces of my history fondly these days.

I was taking some photos this evening, a light walk down memory lane. Thinking about how some of the randomnesses displayed came to me. These four walls house memorabilia containing a thousand stories. Sometimes I think I have to much clutter. When I feel that way, I try to remember. If I can remember it stays. If I can’t, it’s time to let it go. For now, this painting will continue to hang and see another day.