Artist Terry Hughes’ latest show is seven renderings of the Red Baron, the derelict fishing boat off West C Street

By Keri Luiz
Assistant Editor

Local artist Terry Hughes’ latest Benicia Plein Air Gallery exhibit focuses on one subject — one with which most Benicians are familiar.

The Red Baron, the derelict wooden ship resting in the cove off West C Street, is well known around town among artists and non-artists alike. Yet every time he sees it, Hughes said, its appearance has changed — sometimes subtly, sometimes not — and that inspired his latest show.

Seeking to do something different, to “change things around a little bit,” he created seven Red Baron-inspired works using six different media.

Two are oil on canvas, the style Hughes is known for. But he also worked in oil pastel, soft pastel, watercolor, print and charcoal.

The print is of the first painting of the Red Baron that Hughes created, in 2006. “I sold it right away, so I made a print of it,” he said.

The most challenging? “Watercolor. It’s the hardest medium, hands down,” he said.

“The first one I did, I didn’t like it, so this one is my second attempt,” he said of the watercolor.

Why the Red Baron, the abandoned fishing vessel that has long served as a breakwater off West C Street?

After creating what became the exhibit’s central painting, “Baron in the Mist,” earlier this year in his new Arsenal studio, Hughes kept getting new and interesting views of what many consider an iconic Benicia vista.

“A couple mornings in a row when I came down, it was so foggy. One morning the fog was so thick I couldn’t see (the Red Baron).

“The next morning it was a little bit later and I could just see the outlines. It was like ‘Wow! That’s the way.’ And I saw a lot of colors.

“Every morning it’s a different view because of the weather,” Hughes said. “Some mornings it’s low tide, some it’s high tide. Sometimes the duck brigade is down there.”

Even the changing of the tides provides a different view of the sunken boat. “At low tide you can see to the other side,” Hughes said.

“You get to know your subject. We’ve all painted down there,” he added, referring the Benicia’s many plein air painters who have used the Red Baron as their subject.

“Baron in the Mist” quickly sold, but since the owner has several Hughes paintings, the artist was able to borrow it back for the show.

He also encouraged fellow members of the gallery to display their paintings of the Red Baron. He singled out a new work by Rolando Barrero, begun on the Fourth of July, that shows the vessel with fireworks in the background. “It’s really cool,” Hughes said.

The opening reception for Hughes’ show is Saturday, which coincides with the Second Saturday Art Walk. City poets will be on hand for literary recitations when the reception begins at 5 p.m.

If You Go
A reception for Terry Hughes’ exhibit will be Saturday from 5-7 p.m. at the Benicia Plein Air Gallery, 307 First St.