It was mostly beautiful weather for our annual plein air paint-out June 8-11 as 27 juried artists and more than 40 community painters gathered in historic Ellicott City’s historic district to paint the town. The Arts Council hosted a public reception on June 12 for the opening of the exhibit showcasing the work of 27 juried artists and the presentation of more than $8,000 in artist awards.
Juror Doris Glovier presented two Gino Awards, $1,000 each, which are sponsored by the Manelli Family and named in honor of Ellicott City artist Gino Manelli (1915-2010). The awards were presented this year to Dana Enders for River Walk and Chris Rapa for Morning Meditation.
Juror awards also went to:
- 2nd place, $850: Pamela Betts, Secluded Tributary, Edge of Patapsco Park
- 3rd place, $700: Maggii Sarfaty, Lunch at Little Market
- 4th place, $600: Cathy Cole, Under the Bridge
- 5th place, $500: Ronaldo Dorado, Wires & The City
- 6th place, $375: Zachary Kator, Corner, Emory St.
- 7th place, $250: Michael Kotarba, Church Street
- Honorable Mentions, $100 each: Scott Henderson, La Dame Verte; Shawn Costello, Hazy Day by the River; Kathleen Kotarba, At Home in Ellicott City; Nancy Thomas, Tonge Row III; Kenneth Clark, Looking Up in Ellicott City.
The following awards were presented through the generous support of the Arts Council’s Paint It! Ellicott City partners:
- EC250’s Best Depiction of a Historical Site Award, $1,000: Mark Hiles, Hazy Morning in Ellicott City
- AARP Maryland’s AARP Award, $500: Michael Kotarba, Church Street
- Patapsco Heritage Greenway’s Best Depiction of the Patapsco Award, $500: Dana Enders, Playing Hooky
- Blossoms of Hope’s Best Depiction of Nature Award, $250: Kathleen Kotarba, Patapsco Sanctuary
An opening reception for an exhibit featuring artists who took part in the Open Paint portion of Paint It! Ellicott City was held on June 20 at the Howard County Welcome Center. The following awards were presented to Open Paint artists:
- AARP Maryland’s AARP Open Paint Award, $500: Sharon Fuller, Reflecting Red
- EC250’s Best Depiction of a Historical Site (two $500 awards): Esben Jepsen, Silver on the Tiber; Andi Lecha, On the Corner of Park Ave
- 1st Place, Director’s Choice Award, $450: Julia Anderson, View from Hill Street
- 2nd Place, $350: Rana Geralis, Courthouse Date
- 3rd Place, $225.00: Meang Jang, Historic Ellicott City in June 2023
- Carole Zink Award, $100: Yik Chek Phan, Main Street Crown
- Open Paint Honorable Mentions, $75: Katherina Cox, Bridge At Ellicott City; Wiley Purkey, Syriana
A big ‘thank you’ goes out to all our award sponsors, as well as to our media and hospitality sponsor, Visit Howard County; our juried and community artists; juror Doris Glovier; 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 2023, the exhibit featuring the juried artists’ work, is on display at the Howard County Center for the Arts through August 5.
The exhibit featuring community artists who participated in the Open Paint portion of Paint It! Ellicott City will be on view at the Howard County Welcome Center through August 20.
PHOTO CAPTION (top): Artist at work on Main Street during Paint It! Ellicott City 2023 (photo: Ray Urena)