Jerrold Turner poses with his painting “All in Your Mind.” (Photo by Nick Sestanovich)

Jerrold Turner is well-known within Benicia’s art community. However, those wishing to become more acquainted with the local artist’s work can head on over to the Benicia Public Library to see some of his paintings— four decades’ worth, in fact.

Turner, 84, has lived in Benicia for more than a decade. He is a member of Gallery 621, has taught workshops at Arts Benicia as well as curated several exhibitions at the nonprofit art collective, including “The Evolution of Style” and “Painters Painting Painters.” Even since before he came to Benicia, Turner has been painting. Through the exhibition “Retrospective,” viewers will take in a summary and evolution of Turner’s work within the walls of the Marilyn Citron O’Rourke Gallery.

Turner began painting shortly after finishing graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley. He had received a master’s degree in structural engineering and took art classes in the early ‘60s. The art and engineering worlds were a big part of Turner’s life for a long time, and he said the two spheres went hand in hand.

“Technical and analytical work go along with the analytical part of art,” he said. “It’s a design process that is best developed from the imagination. The creative process of designing is what I liked about engineering. The same goes with art. I have a humongous imagination which can get me into trouble sometimes.”

“It is the stimulus of where my ideas come from,” he added.

Turner had his own engineering studio for many years while painting on the side. He began pursuing art even further after turning 50 when he attended an art exhibition at the Walnut Creek Civic Arts Gallery and came across the work of Selden Gile, a leader of the Bay Area art group the Society of Six in the early 20th century who had retired at the age of 50 to paint.

“I said, ‘I just turned 50. What am I gonna do?’” Turner said. “I said, ‘Well, I’m gonna have to do them both at the same time.”

From the start, Turner was primarily a plein air painter. The earliest painting featured in the show is of Tilden Park in 1984. He also has captured scenes of places like Port Costa; Virginia City, Nevada, and the Point Bonita Lighthouse. In recent years, Turner’s paintings have taken a turn for the surreal and humorous. One piece “San Anselmo Eve,” is an abstract painting of downtown San Anselmo which he painted 15 years ago. In the lower righthand corner, Turner recently added a car which had struck a parking meter— an image that does not immediately capture the eye of the viewer upon first seeing the painting. Another image, “Butterfly Crop Circle,” provides an explanation for a widespread conspiracy theory.

“I’m entranced with the whole idea of alien presence and crop circles,” he said. “Everybody started saying ‘Maybe the aliens did it.’ I said, ‘I don’t think so. It could be butterflies.’”

Turner also invokes humorous commentary, such as with a painting of dissolving icebergs titled “Melting Real Estate.”

“I’ve reached a point where humor is like a field theory of physics that exists without any materialism whatsoever,” he said. “It just exists. I enjoy the humor part of it now more than anything else. The images are quirky, funky and a lot of fun.”

Turner was approached by Nikki Basch-Davis, an early student and longtime friend of his, who exhibited her work at the library a few years ago. He said the show was not intended to be a retrospective, but with a wide variety of work featured over a long period of time, it became that.

The artist hopes that visitors will appreciate the diversity of styles and subjects, and take away “an appreciation of the range of sensibilities that a person can have between technical, analytical and artistic creation.”

“Retrospective” will be on display in the library’s O’Rourke Gallery through April 26. A reception will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 31, in which Turner will have self-published books of his work available for viewing. The artist expects to see several other artists, old friends and collectors at the show.

“It could be a bash,” he said.

The library is located at 150 East L St. and open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays and noon to 6 p.m., Fridays through Sundays. For more information, go to benicialibrary.org/gallery.

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