I've been there many times since 2002, but since I published my 2002 drawing of the place I decided to go to Greenberry's Coffee in McLean, Virginia, to see if anything had changed there. The damsels were still there, intently looking into their laptops rather than a book, but the biggest change was at the shop itself. They now serve wine and beer as well as coffee! A group of well-dressed grandparents were sipping wine together and making noise where the sip used to be cappuccino accompanied by the Washington Post. Not that the coffee wasn't still there, I had their plentiful and powerful espresso and their rare and rich "blonde brownie" while drawing this sketch.
When I was last up in the family home in Massachusetts I rescued from the clutter a big book on the 19th-20th century artist Edouard Vuillard. I had only heard a little about his work and seen even less but I am much intrigued by this formerly unknown to me artist. He depicted a world of interiors and theaters and coffee shops and bars, populated either by his relatives and friends or strangers living their own stories. Many of his panels were tall and narrow, influenced by Japanese prints. He kept sketch journals throughout his life, as I do. So this little drawing of an unknown drinker is a homage to Monsieur Vuillard.
Black tech pen ink on sketchbook page, 4" x 7", June 10, 2015.
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