Old Anglers Inn is on MacArthur Boulevard between the DC line and Great Falls Park, Maryland. The Inn itself was not our destination. Across MacArthur Boulevard from it there is access to the C&O canal and an interesting bend in the Potomac River.

The day started out fairly warm but very foggy. While waiting for the fog to lift those who arrived early busied themselves with small sketches of rock formations and the C&O canal. Then, just as most of our members arrived, the sky turned a clear blue and the fog lifted to reveal a beautiful day.

Some preferred to paint along the canal. Three members Andre Kushnir, Glenn Perry and Margaret Huddy congregated at and painted on and around the stone outcrop on the towpath west of the access bridge. By far the majority went down to the river either by the road to the boat ramp or by struggling down the hill through weeds and brush and over fallen logs. And when they arrived they discovered a lot of mud caused by recent rains - rains that also left the river running high and muddy. The joys of painting outdoors.

Directly across the Potomac from the boat ramp and the sometimes sandy and sometimes muddy beach is a bluff with interesting rock formations. It was particularly striking today with the bright sunshine clearly defining the rock forms and giving interesting patterns of light and dark. It became the focus of many paintings. But all was not work. On a beautiful day when many of us had not seen each other for several months - the January and February paintouts had been plagued by bad weather - there was inevitably a lot of comaraderie as people tried to catch up on the latest news from their friends. Some people were observed talking more than painting and one could always find abandoned easels with half finished paintings and absent artists. What would van Gogh have said?

Our critique took place on a flat grassy area on the side of the access bridge across the canal. Some members had other obligations and had to leave before the critique so we were deprived of admiring and/or tearing apart their work. Unfortunately the area was not rich in facilities, especially picnic tables. Most people ate lunch on the run or sitting on the ground since there was almost nowhere to sit. Many of the joggers, kayakers, bikers, and the people just out for a stroll on a lovely day stopped by to see what we were doing. There was at least one young budding artist who simply did not want to miss anything. Perhaps a potential member? When we finished the critique we each went on our way - but some dedicated souls went back to do some more painting.

21 members were present: Ahlstrom, Bellinger, Burrows, Chamberlin, Cooper, Cople, Dellario, Frederikse, Heylin, Huddy, Jaecks, J., Jaecks, H., Kokoski, Kuentz, Kushnir, Merrill, Nuss, Perry, Ray, Tankersley, Whiteley.