06/09/2026
โช๏ธ ๐๐ฃ ๐ฅ๐ก๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐ง Dispatches from the Field โ1: Tom Ritchie says, "The event known as ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐๐๐! ๐๐น๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ is both a challenge and fun. And, I always experiment and go into such events with a plan A and a plan B. This year, it was Plan B. Find a house on Church Road behind the old fire station and do a painting of a house. I did that the first day, despite temperatures nearing 100 degrees. And, Up on Church Road, is in the exhibition. The second part of Plan B was to paint on the grounds of the Patapsco Female Institute. Luckily the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company was finishing up preparations for the summer production of Cymbeline. As long as they were on site, the gates were open. I arrived the second day with a large panel, set up and started to paint. Soon thereafter I was told I would have two hours to do the painting because a Parks and Rec crew were to arrive for some work and the gates would be locked once they left. I was working with a palette knife and that tool saved me. A lot of paint applied with one swipe. The second painting is titled: Patapsco Female Institute on land gifted by the Ellicott Brothers. I finished the painting with minutes to spare.. And, have since learned a lot about the history of PEI, Ellicott City and the brothers. Both paintings will hang in the new gallery of the Howard County Arts building, the old courthouse, Capitoline, until the end of July."
Visit us this weekend and see what all of the GALLERY 322 artists have been creating. Gallery 322 is open Friday 4-7PM, Saturday & Sunday from Noon-5PM.
โผ Tom Ritchie ๐๐ฃ ๐ฅ๐ก๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐ง in action
Howard County Arts Council
