Our annual plein air paint-out in Historic Ellicott City was a big success. Artists enjoyed wonderful weather and the opportunity to capture the beloved mill town from a different perspective – decked out in the glorious hues of autumn. To cap off the event, our virtual reception on October 21 offered a first glimpse of the exhibit of the juried artists’ work and featured the presentation of nearly $10,000 in awards to the artists!
The $1,500 Art in Ellicott City Award, presented by AEC President Kim Egan Rutter, went to Shawn Costello for Tersiguels, while juror Crystal Moll awarded the $1,000 Gino Awards, named in honor of Ellicott City artist Gino Manelli, to Rana Geralis for Patapsco River and Friends and Greg Johannesen for Crisp Light.
Juror awards were also presented to:
- 2nd place, $900: Nancy Van Meter, Beloved Ruin
- 3rd place, $800: Michael Kotarba, Patapsco Branch
- 4th place, $700: Lisa Regopoulos, Chasing That Feeling
- 5th place, $600: Ann J. Crostic, Mulligan Lane
- Best Depiction of Fall, $250: Sandhya Sharma, Autumn Trail
- Best Depiction of Architecture, $250: Marty Barrick, City Windows
- Honorable Mentions, $150 each: Kathleen Kotarba, The Patapsco Dressed in Gold; Bruno Baran, Light Reflections on the Patapsco; Shawn Costello, Evening Walk on Main Street; and Duane Sabiston, This Way Up.
AARP Maryland’s $500 Juried Artist Award went to Debra Moffit for Hatshop Morning, and Patapsco Heritage Greenway presented its $500 Best Depiction of the Patapsco Valley Award to Bruno Baran for Light Reflections on the Patapsco.
Awards were also presented to the Open Paint Artists:
- AARP Maryland Open Paint Award, $500 – MoonJoo Lee, Standing by the River
- HCAC Director’s Choice Award, $100 – Linda Rybak McNamee, Waterfall at Hamilton Street
- HCAC Director’s Choice Honorable Mention Award, $76 – Ben Azzara, View from the Silos
- Young Artist Award, $25 – Oliver Kigin, Mom, I Gotta Paint Those Train Tracks
There is one remaining award to distribute – the People’s Choice Award! After you’ve visited the Paint It! Ellicott City exhibit (either in person or virtually), please vote for your favorite painting here. When the exhibit closes, the artist whose painting has received the most votes will be presented with this award.
Paint It! awards were made possible through the generous support of these sponsors: Art in Ellicott City, the Manelli Family, AARP Maryland, and Patapsco Heritage Greenway.
We’d also like to thank our media and hospitality sponsors, Visit Howard County and Ellicott City Partnership. And thanks to our juried and community artists, juror Crystal Moll, Ellicott City’s Main Street business community, and our Paint It! spectators for helping to make this event such a success. We hope to see all of you again next year!
Art in Ellicott City Presents Paint It! Ellicott City 2020 is on view at the Center for the Arts through December 12. Gallery hours are Tues & Thurs 1-7pm and Sat 10am-4pm. The exhibit is also available to view online, as is an online exhibit of work created by our Open Paint artists.