Judy Feins is bringing light to the Benicia Plein Air Gallery. Specifically, the light is in her paintings which capture the luminous elements of nature. Feins has exhibited at the gallery before— local art aficionados might remember last year’s show “Luminous”—, but those who want to get a further understanding of the East Bay artist’s style can head on down to the Plein Air Gallery where her exhibit “Shimmer and Glow, California Landscapes” is on display through Sept. 30.

Feins has only been a member of the Plein Air Gallery for a few years, but she has already developed a fondness for Benicia, particularly its artist community.

“It’s been a real pleasure for me to show my work in Benicia and get to know the people there,” she said. “it’s like a whole new world that’s opened up to me.”

Feins has been involved in art her entire life. In fact, she said, she was drawing before she even started school. Over time, she became attracted to plein air painting, even studying the form at the Aegean School of Fine Arts in Greece. Feins has exhibited her work at galleries throughout the Bay Area and took first place in the juried statewide exhibit “Poems without Words, Contemporary California Coastlines” in 2008.

Feins loves just about everything about painting outdoors from the light to the colors to the weather to the history of the area being painted.

“I love how what I’m looking at reveals itself to me,” she said.

In particular, Feins likes painting old buildings and landscapes.

“I often imagine what it was like before it was developed, what people have lived there, how it’s changed,” she said.

As the days progress, Feins said she often sees the light shift as she is painting.

“Watching the light change minute by minute is very beautiful,” she said. “It’s like a ballet. Everything is changing every minute.”

Natural light and colors are prominently displayed in Feins’ paintings, which served as the inspiration for “Shimmer and Glow.”

“A lot of it is paintings of water (and) the light on the water or the light that comes through early in the morning,” she said.

A standout painting for Feins is “Morning Garden” which was the result of the artist getting up at 6:30 every morning to see what the light was doing in the garden, namely “how it came through the tree and it made that part of the tree glow, and it came through the roses and made each rose glow.”

Additionally, Feins also likes the way light bounces off clouds.

“There’s a whole lot of activity going on with the light,” she said.

Feins hopes viewers will see natural light in a new way.

“It will maybe make them look at the sunsets more or enjoy the sparkle in the water more because it will remind them of that,” she said.

“Shimmer and Glow” will run through Sept. 30 at the Plein Air Gallery, located at 307 First St. The gallery’s hours are noon to 6 p.m., Thursdays through Sundays. A reception will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16 at the gallery. For more information, visit beniciapleinair.com.