A little less rain and a bit more sun would have been nice, but our annual plein air paint-out in Historic Ellicott City was still a big success. As always, our artists made the best of it, finding interesting and new vantage points from which to paint while avoiding raindrops – and cicadas! The result was dozens of wonderful new paintings, many of which depict views of our beloved town we’ve not seen before.
Our virtual reception on June 18 offered a sneak peek of the exhibit of the juried artists’ work and featured the presentation of over $9,000 in awards to the artists! The $1,000 Gino Awards, named in honor of long-time Ellicott City artist Gino Manelli, were announced by juror Lynn Mehta and went to Michael Kotarba for Water Like Wine and Rajendra KC for Little Market Café.
Juror awards were also presented to:
- 2nd place, $900 – Erin Pryor Gill, Rainy Day at Frederick Rd.
- 3rd place, $800 – Marita Hines, Flowers for Sale
- 4th place, $700 – Nishita Jain, Trolley Trail Walk
- 5th place, $600 – Christine Rapa, A Sunday Kind of Love
- 40th Anniversary Award, $400 – Jane Knighton, Peaceful Pond
- Honorable Mentions, $150 each – Tom Ritchie, Rainy Day Lunch Bunch; Stacy Rogers, Down Main Street; Bruno Baran, Through a Rainy Windshield: Babe Ruth’s Church; and Kathleen Kotarba, Built to Last
AARP Maryland’s $500 Juried Artist Award went to Amanda Milliner, Meet Me at the Café, while Patapsco Heritage Greenway presented its $500 Best Depiction of the Patapsco Valley Award to Kathleen Gray Farthing for Rush, and Blossoms of Hope’s Best Depiction of Nature Award went to Nishita Jain for Trolley Trail Walk
Awards were also presented to the Open Paint Artists:
- AARP Maryland Open Paint Award, $500 – Moonjoo Lee, Where Reflection Lies
- HCAC Director’s Choice 40th Anniversary Open Paint Award, $400 – Ronaldo Dorado, Running Wild
- HCAC Director’s Choice Honorable Mentions, $50 each – Barbara Kern-Bush, Ellicott City Fire House; and Collin Cessna, Chalks on Main Street
- Young Artist Award, $25 – Henry Kigin, Blue House
Paint It! awards were made possible through the generous support of these sponsors: The Manelli Family, AARP of Maryland, Blossoms of Hope, Patapsco Heritage Greenway, and the Family of Carole Zink.
We’d also like to thank our media and hospitality sponsor, Visit Howard County, as well as our juried and community artists; juror Lynn Mehta; 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!
Paint It! Ellicott City 2021 is on view at the Center for the Arts through August 7. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Thursday 10am-8pm and Saturday 10am-4pm. The exhibit is also available to view online. An exhibit of work by our Open Paint artists is on display at the Visit Howard County Welcome Center through July 24 and can also be viewed online.