Paint It! Ellicott City Award Winners Announced

Landscape painters from around the Mid-Atlantic region returned to Ellicott City July 6-8, enjoying nearly ‘picture perfect’ summer weather while competing for cash prizes during Paint It! Ellicott City, an annual plein air paint-out.

In light of the tragic flash flooding that occurred in Ellicott City’s Historic District over Memorial Day weekend, the traditional paint-out boundaries were expanded this year to include the entirety of Ellicott City’s 21042 and 21043 zip codes. Artists chose from such scenic locales as Centennial Park, the Shrine of St. Anthony, and Clark’s Elioak Farm, with many also venturing to the Historic District to paint in areas which have re-opened to the public.

A reception at the Howard County Arts Council on July 9 featured the premiere of an exhibit showcasing the work of 22 juried artists; a one-night showing of work completed by non-juried participants in the Open Paint-Out; and the presentation of over $6,000 in awards to the artists.

Juror Bennett Vadnais presented the top two prizes, the $1,000 Gino Awards named in honor of Ellicott City artist Gino Manelli (1915–2010), to Tara Will for Downtown View and Alex Wissel for A Slight Detour.

Juror awards also went to:
1st place, $800: Thomas Bucci, Power of Water
2nd place, $700: Greg Foertsch, Mount Ida
3rd place, $600: Ronaldo Dorado, Recovery
4th place, $500: Kyle Buckland, The Shrine of St. Anthony
5th place, $400: Erin Pryor Gill, Hill House
6th place, $200: Debra Moffit, Sacred Spot
Honorable Mention, $150: Rana Geralis, Main Street E.C. & Kathleen Gray Farthing, Shrine of St. Anthony

Howard County Blossoms of Hope's Award for Best Depiction of Nature, $250, went to Ann Crostic for Looking Upward.

Patapsco Heritage Greenway’s Best Depiction of the Patapsco River Award, $500, went to Kathleen Gray Farthing for River Play. Patapsco Heritage Greenway’s Purchase Award also went to Kathleen Gray Farthing for River Play.

Awards were also presented to the Open Paint Artists:

Howard County Tourism Director's Choice Award, $150: Jane Knighton, Garden of Honor
Howard County Arts Council Director's Choice Award, $150: Andrew Warren, July Farm
Open Paint Honorable Mention, $55: Joan Lee, Firehouse Museum

Paint It! Ellicott City 2018, the exhibit featuring the juried artists’ work, remains on display at the Howard County Arts Council through August 17. The exhibit also includes a special benefit wall of Ellicott City paintings donated by past and present Paint It! artists as well as other community artists. A minimum of 50% of the proceeds from the sales of benefit artwork will go to the Arts Council’s Re-Create: Ellicott City Artist Relief Fund, established to support artists and non-profit arts organizations who suffered financial losses as a result of the recent flooding.

Paint It! Ellicott City is presented by Howard County Arts Council, Howard County Tourism & Promotion, Mat About You Gallery & Framing, and Ellicott City Partnership. For more information on this and other Arts Council programs, visit hocoarts.org.