Some artists might prefer to work from home, others in familiar studio spaces dedicated to their process. Sam Heimer, on the other hand, spends his time hopping around to Philadelphia area bars, of which he certainly has an abundant selection to choose from. At LMNL Gallery on Frankford Avenue, the drawings inspired by these dimly lit locales and their often surly clientele are on display as part of the show “Why Are You Here?”

Sam Heimer’s map of Philadelphia with its cast of barflies and weirdos.

Against a side wall, Heimer includes a massive canvas painted with a very rudimentary black and white map of Philadelphia. This centerpiece for the exhibit is pinned with an assortment of tiny notebook sketches that the artist undoubtedly culled from the denizens of watering holes in the various neighborhoods represented. Aside from the glaring omission of anything west of the Schuylkill River, we find faces from Brewerytown, South Philly, Port Richmond, Fishtown and Center City tacked together across the inky landscape.

Detail from the center of the map by Sam Heimer.

Text is a major component of a majority of these images, and some of the lined pages include only written musings, such as “The grass is always greener until you’re dead, then you make the grass greener!” and “New Year, New You, Old Lie,” among other pleasantries. Heimer makes no reservations when including his artistic opinions either, taking shots at the likes of Cy Twombly and Jeff Koons just in case we doubted his macabre aesthetic.

Work by Sam Heimer.

An interactive digital installation at the back of the space scrolls through a series of images from Heimer’s drink-and-draw events on a tall stack of wall-mounted monitors. The opening on February 6 was paired with one of these live, boozy sketching events that the artist hosts weekly at Sarah’s Place in Brewerytown.

Most of the show, however, is composed of framed illustrations full of Heimer’s signature grotesque, eyeless and deformed characters, whom we can only hope look slightly healthier in real life. Most are vaguely humanoid, with the possible exception of the owl-like creature in “Dark spaces are always filled with friendly faces.” Although this ghoulish countenance is quite jarring, it does appear more benign than, say, the scaly figure in “Nah, dude… Bourbon turns me into an animal,” whose hands seem to have recently fallen prey to an Old Fashioned glass in the middle of a bear trap.

Work by Sam Heimer.

Ballantine Beer is also appropriately advertised below the exhibit’s hostilely inquisitive title, spelled out in the eyes of a four-eyed, widow’s peaked curmudgeon. With his crooked grin and hollow stare, we may be hesitant to reply, even if we know the answer. Sam Heimer certainly knows why. He’s here to drink, draw, and be… morbid. “Why Are You Here?” will be on view by appointment through February 27.

LMNL Gallery is located at 1526 Frankford Ave., Philadelphia; 267-639-9956; lmnlgallery.com.