1985. Colored Pencils on Paper. Size Unknown.

In a Sioux Falls history book, I found a black and white photograph, taken circa 1940, of the southwest corner of 11th and Phillips Avenue, Sioux Falls. The corner building was home to the Palace of Sweets and later the Peanut Gallery. Minerva’s began operating there in 1977. Also on that block were Lewis Drug, the Happy Hour Bar, KSOO, and Holmes Cleaners.

I’d been wanting to create art with colored pencils, so I gave them a try. I guessed what colors to use.

At some point in the late 1980s, I donated this piece to the Civic Fine Arts Center annual “Arts Night” auction. I did not know who purchased it until the passing of Dona Kirby of Sioux Falls in 2015. Dona was a Holmes and her family owned and operated the cleaners. One of Dona’s sons, Kevin Kirby, found the painting in her home as he was helping to sort her belongings after her passing. The drawing is in his possession.