Thinking of Graham always brings back memories of the music that we used to listen to.  When I was first hanging out with him, we used to listen to bucket loads of hip hop - usually at Mike Olson's place playing vids.  In fact, I seem to remember one weekend where we watched CB4 about 5 times in a row!  I think the bands I remember the most from that time were A Tribe Called Quest, 2-Pac, Outkast, and Snoop Dogg. 

 Both this image and the previous image come from a website I used to maintain back in ought-four or five.  Or was it earlier?  Memory fails.  I remember it being in use at the time Graham was away, because I made this.  Graham and I would stay in contact via email and, of course, Mao came up fairly often.  I used to drink very recklessly with Graham, though we didn't often turn to the dirty forty.  We tended to drink straight shots of Wizer's rye or Gibson's.  I remember very well one of the last times I had a drink with Graham, when I was in Canada, at my dads.  We were drinking Wizers, but it was the premium aged stuff.  We weren't racing to the bottom of the bottle.  We were sitting outside enjoying a warm summer's evening.  It formed a pleasant and lasting memory of Graham which often comes up on me unawares. 

 Art was something else I shared with Graham.  Not in the sense of formal critiques or gallery visits, but in the basic joy of creation.  He was often a bit shy or hesitant, which is why I kept everything he sent me, I liked to encourage him.  I remember that he was very exited about making puppets but was never satisfied with his results enough to bring them out and show them around.

 We shared a fixation with the moon, and destruction by, or of, it.  I think this stemmed mostly from the cartoon Dragon-Ball Z in which someone offhandedly blows up the moon.  But, it became a central part of our shared creative universe.  The above picture was an electronic birthday card that I received from him.

 More moon stuff - I remember sending pictures back and forth via email around this stage.  We started out using ms paint because we were bored stiff at school and had little else to do during lunch.  It turned into a creative outlet that we continued to use well past high school.

 Graham had an interesting and unique way of approaching things.  He may not have had perfect technique - but his creations always interested and surprised me.  I wish I could have saved some of the custom Worms levels he created at the Dean and Kevin's house over the summer after high school.  He worked for hours on those things and some of them were simply amazing!

 I love this picture.  I don't want to break it down too much.  This is probably my favorite of Graham's MS Paint pictures.

 This picture is just so Graham.  I can hear him saying "wha?" clearly in my head.  I can see the expression on his face as he says it.

This picture is a great example of Graham's unique approach, also.  I would never have thought to use MS paint in the same ways that he did, and it was always a treat to see what he did, and trace back through the creation of the piece.  You would always find a genuine slice of Graham at the end of such a tracing.  His honesty was reflected in everything he created.  

Miss you lots, lil G,
Gareth.