The word “peace” is commonly associated with the holiday season, certainly in 2017. With ongoing wars in the Middle East and Africa, divisive politics in Washington and frequent mass shootings and terrorist incidents worldwide, peace is a desire that, in the minds of many individuals, outweighs any material item. When the time came for the artists of Benicia Plein Air Gallery to choose a theme for their December group show, they had one thing in mind.

“This year, we discussed what was on everybody’s mind, which was peace,” member artist and publicity Chair Dixie Mohan said.

Thus, the show “Peace” was born to give artists an opportunity to portray their interpretation of the concept of peace for the holiday season. They were only given one rule: the pieces could be no larger than 16 by 20 inches. Apart from that, they could paint whatever they felt represented peace to them. As a result, the paintings are all of different scenes from throughout the world.

“There’s a wide range of paintings,” Mohan said.

For example, Joann McMahon painted a lake in the Sierra Nevada Mountains that is considered a prime spot for artists to capture on canvas in the summer but nearly inaccessible in the winter unless someone has a pair of skis or snowshoes. McMahon depicted a scene of what it would look like in the winter.

“She has this very quiet night snow scene in the Sierra,” Mohan said.

Catherine Fasciato depicted the tranquil waters of China Cove in Carmel, and Susan Johnson did an impressionistic painting of a city along the water. Not everybody ventured far to find scenes of serenity. Iris Sabre painted Benicia’s Red Baron with the Carquinez Bridge in the background.

“It’s a Benicia scene, but everything’s kind of quiet on the Strait,” Mohan said. “It’s kind of at the change of day in late afternoon.”

With a theme that has such broad interpretations, Mohan is impressed with the variety of ways the artists depicted peace.

“Each artist did a thoughtful painting on the idea of what’s a peaceful scene,” she said.

Mohan also likes how meditative the pieces are.

“They’re the kind of paintings you can look at and reflect on,” she said. “Each of the paintings invoke that sense of reflecting and personal reflection.”

With all the chaos in the world, Mohan hopes people will come into the gallery, look at the paintings and be figuratively transported to a place where they can take their minds off the chaos of the world for a bit.

“Maybe it will transport you to an oceanside in France or just down to the water in our own town,” she said. “It will transport you to a place of quiet for the season.”

There is no reception for this show, but Mohan said the Gallery Christmas Tree is back, featuring ornaments of miniature paintings that range in price from $10 to $30.

“It’s been our way of thanking Benicians who patronize us all year and even sometimes come in just to look at our shows even if they’re not in the market for paintings,” she said.

“Peace” will open Thursday, Dec. 7 at the Plein Air Gallery, located at 307 First St., and run through Jan. 2. The gallery’s hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. For more information, go to beniciapleinair.com.