Paint It! Ellicott City Event & Exhibition

Artists from around the region – and as far away as Fort Collins, Colorado! – will gather in Historic Ellicott City the weekend of July 8–10 to participate in Paint It! Ellicott City, an annual plein air painting event. The Howard County Arts Council (HCAC), Howard County Tourism, the Historic Ellicott City Partnership, and Howard County Public Schools are presenting this paint-out weekend culminating in an exhibit of 25 juried artists at the Howard County Center for the Arts.

The guest juror for Paint It! Ellicott City 2016 is Plein Air magazine editor M. Stephen Doherty, who selected 25 artists for the juried exhibit: Lissa Abrams, Joanna Barnum, Beth Bathe, Jennifer Brakefield, Sid Branham, David Diaz, Raymond Ewing, Matt Fenton 4, Erin Gill, Randall Graham, Debra Howard, Caroline Jasper, Greg Johannesen, Barry Koplowitz, Michael Kotarba, Deborah Maklowski, Maria Marino, Alison Leigh Menke, Duane Sabiston, Ann Schaefer, John Slivjak, Charles Snell, Sharon Trumbull, Robert Vail, and Tara Will.

The event begins with an Artist & VIP Welcome Reception at the Howard County Welcome Center on Thursday, July 7 from 6–7:30pm. Then, all day on July 8–10, artists will set up their easels throughout the Ellicott City historic district, striving to capture the scenic mill town and all its charms. Members of the public are invited to come see the artists at work while strolling Main Street’s sidewalks and shops. Artists and art students from the community can also join in the fun, painting alongside the juried artists as Open Paint-Out participants.

On Saturday, July 9 from 10am–12pm, Paint Down Main, a quick draw competition presented by Mat About You Gallery, returns for its second year, with artists competing for cash prizes as they take a painting from start to finish in just two hours. A subsequent pop-up exhibit and sale of work completed during the Quick Draw offers fun for spectators and artists alike.

Artists and visitors are invited to attend a free opening reception at the Howard County Center for the Arts on Monday, July 11 from 6-8pm. The juried artists will be featured in HCAC’s Gallery I through August 19; Open Paint-Out artists’ work will be displayed in the Center’s lobby on reception night, then moved to an exhibit at the Howard County Welcome Center in Ellicott City for the remainder of the summer. During the reception, awards will be presented to the artists, including the Gino Awards, two $1,000 awards named in honor of Ellicott City artist Gino Manelli (1915–2010). The exhibited artwork will be available for purchase.

In conjunction with the Paint It! Ellicott City Gino Awards, Howard Community College will host a special gallery exhibit. Virtuosity and Versatility: 75 Years of Gino Manelli’s Work, a retrospective of the late Howard County artist, will run from June 28–July 22, with a free reception on July 9 from 5–7pm. For more information, visit ginomanelli.com.

Registration is required for those wishing to be included in the Open Paint-Out exhibits. Registration forms are available at the Arts Council, the Howard County Welcome Center, and online on the ‘Exhibits’ page at hocoarts.org before or during the event.

Paint It! Ellicott City will be on display with Montgomery Portrait Artists, a showcase of portraiture by the group’s five member artists. Both exhibits run from July 11 to August 19, 2016. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday 10am – 8pm, Saturday 10am – 4pm, and Sunday 12 – 4pm. To learn more about these and other HCAC programs, visit hocoarts.org or call 410-313-ARTS (2787).