Annual Paint It! Ellicott City plein air event rescheduled for October

The Howard County Arts Council has rescheduled its annual plein air event, Paint It! Ellicott City 2020, for Oct. 15-19. The original dates were June 25-29 and had to be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The deadline for entries has also been extended to July 23.

The event features artists competing for a minimum of $4,000 in total awards, including the $2,000 Gino Award, which is named in honor of local artists Gino Manelli, who died in 2010. Winners of the juried art contest will be announced at a reception on Oct. 19 for the opening of the exhibit, which will run through Dec. 11.

Other Paint It! Ellicott City events include a quick draw session and an open paint-out for community artists to enter.

For more information, go to hocoarts.org.

Dayton artist’s watercolor featured in Seattle exhibit

Local artist April Rimpo, of Dayton, was one of 62 artists selected to have her work featured in the Northwest Watercolor Society’s annual membership exhibition, “Waterworks Unchained.”

Rimpo’s painting, “Water Sprite,” was selected from more than 300 entries from artists around the country and Canada.

Typically held at a retirement community near Seattle at Aljoya/Mercer Island, the society decided to host the exhibit online this year at nwws.org. It is available for viewing through July 31.

Columbia native selected for new theater project

Florida Studio Theatre, a regional theater in Sarasota, Florida, has started a nationwide play development project, The Playwrights Project, that employs 33 of the country’s top playwrights, sketch comedy writers and music theater developers to create brand-new work for the stage.

Jason Odell Williams, who grew up in Columbia, was selected to be one of the playwrights participating. He is working on a play currently titled “America in One Room” for the project.

Williams’ works include “Baltimore in Black & White,” “Division Street” and “Someone Else.” He now lives in Manhattan with his wife and daughter.