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Space paintings on display for Trekkies Photo by Jim Craven "Red Giant and White Dwarf" is one of three paintings by Eagle Point artist Peter Loeb that will be on display beginning Friday at White City 6 theaters. The exhibit of Loeb's space watercolors coincides with the opening of "Star Trek: Insurrection.'' Artist uses his own technique By BILL VARBLE Boldly going where no one has gone before, Peter Loeb figured, hey, why not an art exhibit at the White City 6? Loeb, of Eagle Point, is an artist who creates what he calls "spacescapes" -- watercolors of stars, planets, nebulae and other galactic wonders. With "Star Trek: Insurrection" set to open Friday at the White City theaters, Loeb told theater manager Kimberly Swanson about his space watercolors, and Swanson agreed to have a look. "I was blown away," she says. As quick as a Klingon battle cruiser going into warp speed, the two decided on an exhibit in connection with the movie. The results -- three large watercolors by Loeb -- will be on display in the theater lobby in time to greet Trekkies. They can be seen during the theater's normal hours. A watercolor called "Red Giant and White Dwarf" depicts a binary star system in which two stars in a cosmic dance exchange stellar matter. Another is of the planet Uranus with its pale wisp of a ring. The third is a study of the "Horsehead" nebula, a famous astronomical sight caused by the gases and debris spewed by an exploding star in its death throes. Loeb, 55, says he's had a lifelong obsession with space. Sometimes he almost feels like he's been out there. "Where that comes from, who knows?" he says. Originally from Arkansas, Loeb earned bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees in architecture and fine arts, then taught at the college level in Colorado and in Saudi Arabia. He's a "Star Trek" fan but not really a Trekkie. "I've seen the original episodes 10 times over," he says. "I used to have euphoric revelations watching them. But I don't have a pin or go to conventions or anything." He reflects a moment, then adds with a laugh, "I also have some problems with Capt. Kirk." Loeb is a self-proclaimed videophobe who claims not to have a TV set in the house. "TV shuts off your thinking," he says. He thinks computers make people introverted. Art is another matter. Loeb is a traditional watercolor painter, meaning he uses transparent paints to let the white of the paper underneath shine through. To begin a painting, he soaks heavy paper in water and stretches it onto a plywood frame. After it's dry, it's time for layout and composition with pencil or a bit of charcoal. Next comes the interesting part. He seals surfaces by masking them off, sometimes in hundreds of different spots. Using tape, crayons, liquid rubber, whatever, he blocks off the spots he doesn't want the paint to coat -- say, the spots where hundreds of tiny stars will be. He saturates the paper again and applies pigments over and over. The result is a certain three-dimensionality. "I've had people pull pictures up off the wall to see if I had a shadow box back there," he says. Price tags on the celestial paintings are $750 to $1,000. Whatever else they are, they're not your usual watercolors. Loeb applied for membership in the prestigious American Watercolor Society and was turned down. He says he was told, "Those aren't watercolors." He's not deterred. "If you don't stop, you might make a discovery," he says. Like Kirk and his crew heading for a new galaxy, needing all the power the Enterprise can muster. Ah, Jim, he's an artist -- not an engineer. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA