Fall Collection

Benicia Plein Air Gallery presents a year-round exhibit of work by all of our gallery artists showcasing a colorful variety of media and styles.

Drop by to see what's new! 

Carol Tarzier

Maria, Samantha and MaryLou have paintings in the Valley Art Gallery 

1661 Botelho Drive, Walnut Creek

September 2025 to March 2026

MaryLou Correia, Maria SantoStefano and Samantha McNally 

Samantha has illustrated a book called “Benicia’s Changing Tides” by Fiona M. Hughes. We have autographed copies available in the gallery! Benicia’s Changing Tides is also available on Amazon. 

Samantha McNally

Jessica De Jesus

 Jessica de Jesus's work "Cathedrals from Taft Point" is juried into the California Art Club's exhibition Echoes of Yosemite at St. Mary's College Museum of Art in Moraga, which runs September 17 - December 14, 2025.The Opening Reception will be on September 18 from 5 -7 pm and is open to the public.

Carol's classes through Rossmoor Art Association begin October 23rd, 2025. There is still some room in the Portraits from Photographs class. 

To enroll visit www.rossmoorart.com.

Carol Tarzier's work can also be purchased through Studio Gallery in San Francisco and MK Contemporary in Santa Cruz.

Samantha And MaryLou will have 3 paintings in the Lamorinda Arts Alliance exhibit “In the Mix” at

The Gallery @ City Hall, San Ramon. 7000 Bollinger Canyon Rd, San Ramon, CA 94583

November 4 to December 18

Samantha McNally and MaryLou Correia

Catherine Fasciato received an Honorable Mention at the Mendocino Open Paint Out for her piece "Pink Horizon."

Samantha McNally has been invited to judge the Capitola Plein Air Paint out. The artists will paint November 3-9. The Awards, Exhibition and Art Sale is on Sunday, November 9, from 11:00AM—4:00PM, New Brighton Middle School. Capitola Plein Air 2025 | City of Capitola California

MaryLou Correia takes the featured artist spotlight at Benicia Plein Air Gallery with her exhibit, “Colors of Joy,” in November. The community is invited to the artist's reception on Saturday, November 8 from 2 to 5 p.m.
MaryLou will also be greeting guests at the gallery Sunday November 9, Saturday, November 15, and Saturday, November 29.

“For me the adventure is the process of painting, says MaryLou, “The meditative absorbing challenge of capturing the moment in time and a sense of the place. Painting is my way of cherishing nature and welcoming the surprises and the unexpected gentle creatures I meet along the way.”

Influenced by the Impressionists' use of brilliant, sensuous layers of color, she observes the grace and beauty of Nature to capture a vignette in time. Painting loosely with exuberant brush strokes, her vibrant color combinations express the changing moods of the landscapes. The subtle use of figures stirs the viewer's imagination. Challenged by painting pure landscape with only the hint of human presence, her painting encourages the viewer to appreciate and preserve landscape for future generations.

Mary Lou has a classical art education. She received a bachelor's degree at Syracuse University, followed by graduate work at CCAC in Oakland. After an early career teaching art at Salinas High School and Monterey Community College, she worked for a number of years as a designer and as Director of Publication for Saint Mary's College in Moraga. Mary Lou has received many awards and exhibited through the Bay Area and nationally, including Oil Painters of America Annual Show, Washington D.C.; Plein Air Painting Festivals in: Carmel; Marinscapes Festival; Carquinez Scene on the Straits.

Her works are in collections throughout the world, and she is represented by galleries in San Francisco, the East Bay, and Marin County. She teaches Plein Air workshops on a regular basis through the Walnut Creek Continuing Education Program. Mary Lou Correia lives in Walnut Creek, California.

"The show features paintings from my Spring residency at Bancroft Gardens in Walnut Creek as well as Gouache paintings from recent adventures painting in Italy. “I traveled with Craig and Anna Nelson and a group of 15 painters to Lake Garda, Italy for a week and then on to Venice for a second week of intense painting."

"I painted with water based, designer, gouache on 9x12 on 300-pound multimedia toned paper. The media is an opaque intense pigment with a matt powdered finish similar to pastel. Currently gouache is enjoying a resurgence of popularity as a media for travel. It is so portable. The paint tubes are small and concentrated. A lightweight easel, tripod, and compact stool completed my equipment. I experimented some months before the trip learning the attributes of gouache painting. Paintings on display are also of the California and Oregon Coast."