PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 14, 2025
Contact: Miles Warren
artcenterdirector@hocoarts.org
(410) 313-2787
Howard County Arts Council Announces Juror and Awards for Paint It! Ellicott City 2025
ELLICOTT CITY, MD – The Howard County Arts Council is pleased to announce Crystal Moll as the juror for Paint It! Ellicott City 2025.
For over 30 years, Crystal Moll has painted on the East Coast of the USA. For half that time, she has run the Crystal Moll Gallery, which hosts other artists’ works in addition to offering custom framing. Based in beautiful Baltimore, Maryland, Moll offers a distinct selection of plein air art paintings, limited edition signed prints, tiles, and posters of Baltimore’s urban landscape. Moll has embraced her adopted home of Baltimore, where she paints strictly on location and explores cityscapes as her subject. She works hard to produce these on an ongoing basis, while sticking to attention to detail and subtle nuance that she hopes truly reflects the true nature of the attractive subjects she portrays.
HoCo Arts is also pleased to announce the return of the Gino Award in 2025. Named in honor of artist Gino Manelli by his son Julian Manelli, the Gino Award is a $2,000 cash prize that will be awarded to two artists participating in Paint It! Ellicott City 2025.
Gino Manelli (1915–2010) was an avid artist and cyclist who maintained an art studio in Ellicott City for nearly four decades. In the span of his seventy-year artistic career, Gino created landscapes, portraits, and still lifes in a broad range of media and styles. Known for his dramatic use of color and a dynamic palette knife, he interpreted the world with a mature sensibility, creating emotional, engaging artwork. Gino also shared his love and knowledge of drawing and painting through teaching. When not in his studio, he could often be seen cycling through the challenging hills and curves of Ellicott City with a paint box strapped to his back. Gino passed away in 2010. His work can be found in numerous galleries in the United States and Europe.
Paint It! Ellicott City 2025 sponsors also include AARP Maryland, Howard County Historical Society, Patapsco Heritage Greenway, Blossoms of Hope, Ellicott City Partnership, and the Family of Carole Zink.
From June 5-8, juried artists will set up their easels throughout Ellicott City’s historic district to capture the town’s unique charms in the Arts Council’s annual plein air paint-out. On June 9, HoCo Arts will host an opening reception for the exhibition of juried artists’ work at the Howard County Center for Arts from 6-8pm. The reception will feature live music, light refreshments, and the presentation of more than $5,000 in awards.
Paint It! Ellicott City 2025 will be on display in Gallery I through August 2, along with No Boundaries in Gallery II. No Boundaries is our annual exhibit in partnership with Howard County Recreation and Parks featuring work by youth and adult artists with development disabilities.
Please note: Due to venue renovations in 2025, there are no plans for an Open Paint exhibition event, however artists who are not juried in are encouraged to come to Ellicott City for the weekend and participate in the Paint Out.
For more information on this and other Arts Council programs, please visit hocoarts.org or call (410) 313-2787.
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