Ellicott City 'Paint It'

The French expression en plein air means "in the open air." For painters, it means setting up shop outside and committing scenes and landscapes to canvas.

Ellicott City "Paint It" is a celebration of plein air painting techniques. Sponsored by the Howard County Center for the Arts, it gives local artists a chance to come together to paint scenes from historic Ellicott City and compete for a juried grand prize.

During the last weekend in August, local artists in set up along  Main Street and painted late summer scenes.

Their work was later shown at the Howard County Center for the Arts for an exhibition and an awards ceremony.