2026 Prospectus

Wednesday
Kick-off ceremony via Zoom for Juried Artists only

Thursday–Sunday | All Day
Juried Artists and Open Paint participants will paint throughout Historic Ellicott City.

Monday
Juried Exhibit Reception & Awards Ceremony
Capitoline Center (Historic Circuit Courthouse Building, 8360 Court Ave)
Free and open to the public.

June–August
The Paint It! Ellicott City 2026 exhibit of juried artist work will be on view in Gallery I at the Capitoline Center. Free and open to the public.

Open Paint Participation
Artists of all skill levels and ages are invited to participate in Open Paint. Registration is $10.

All artists working en plein air in oil, acrylic, pastel, or watercolor aged 18 years and older are eligible to apply.

To enter Paint It! Ellicott City, interested artists should review the exhibit prospectus for the current year, pay the entry fee, and complete the online entry form at submittable.www.hocoarts.org. Mailed entries will not be accepted.

The Paint It! Ellicott City application asks for the following information:

Contact Information

• Artist’s name
• Address
• Email
• Phone 

Entries

• Artists may submit up to four entries for consideration. You will need to provide the title, medium, dimensions, and year completed, along with one image (.jpg) for each work.
• Entries must be individual files in jpg format. Label each file with the artist’s last name, first initial, and the entry number corresponding to the entry form (e.g. SmithJ_1.jpg). Each file should be less than 1MB. 
• Do not submit more than the requested number of artworks; they will not be viewed.

Up to 30 artists will be selected to participate in the juried portion of the Paint It! Ellicott City exhibition at the Howard County Center for the Arts. Selected juried artists will be expected to attend the paint out event in Ellicott City and produce at least one artwork in that time and place en plein air (without the use of photographs) to be hung in HoCo Arts’ Gallery I. Included artworks will need to be framed and are required to stay in the gallery for the duration of the exhibit.

A non-refundable entry fee of $30 is due at the time of entry. All fees go toward awards and costs for the event.

A 20% commission will be retained by HoCo Arts on all sales of artwork included in the exhibit, as well as any sales during the plein air event. Work is not required to be for sale.

A minimum of $6,000 in cash awards will be presented by the juror, including the $2,000 Gino Award. Named in honor of Gino Manelli (1915-2010), Gino was an avid artist and cyclist who established his art studio in Ellicott City in 1966. Over a 70-year artistic career, Gino created landscapes, portraits, and still lifes in a range of media and styles with dramatic color use and a dynamic palette knife, creating emotional, engaging artwork. His work is in galleries in the United States and Europe.

All work is insured against physical damage or loss, less the 20% commission, from time of receipt by HoCo Arts through the designated date and time of pick-up.

The decision of the juror is final. All accepted work must remain in the gallery for the duration of the exhibit. HoCo Arts reserves the right to photograph artwork and artists for publicity and educational purposes and to use images of submitted work for the same purposes. HoCo Arts reserves the right to reject work not suitably presented. All work must be original, no reproductions (including giclee, commercially printed, or computer-generated reproductions of paintings, drawings, etc.) Submission of an entry constitutes understanding and agreement with all conditions mentioned in this prospectus.

• February – Juried artist submissions open
• April – Juried Entry Deadline
• May – Open Paint Registration
• June – Artist Orientation and Kick-Off Event
  • Paint Out
  • Artist Registration 
  • Drop-off artwork
  • Reception; free and open to the public
• August – Exhibit closes
  • Pick-up artwork