Caffe Ladro with Soundtrack

4/26/24 Caffe Ladro, Roosevelt neighborhood

After sketching at Caffe Ladro last week, I looked back at the sketches I had made the last time I was there. The subject matter I chose was mostly the same, as was the basic style (using colored Uglybook paper in a tonal way). But composing a variety of snippets together on a single page somehow gives them more of a theme, as if they belong together and are not random.

Reading Scott McCloud’s books on comic design has made me more aware of sounds as a part of the medium. Like “BAM!” and “CRACK!” and other noises comic super heroes make as they bash their enemies, all sounds in comics must be evoked with written words. Caffe Ladro was playing a steady ‘70s soundtrack that day, so I put some lyrics in the borders.

I don’t know if McCloud would say that I’m making comics, but my urban sketches have taken on a different dimension influenced by a comic style. As someone who was never interested in comics as a kid (let alone as an adult), it surprises me that the style appeals to me so much. But like anything in art, inspiration sometimes comes from unexpected sources if we stay open to it.

This dog didn't make it into the comic, but he was still worth sketching.