By Jeff Petersen

Observer Staff Writer

Maybe Gary Moses was born 100 years too late.

A century ago his passion for illustrating could have made him a big man on campus.

Then again, the Eastern Oregon University webmaster has discovered an important role in today's world. His aptitude for computers, for balancing art and science, has made him as recession-proof as possible.

And he gets to wear the big W on the chest, for the modern superhero, Webmaster.

Moses is among the many artists whose works are exhibited at Nightingale Gallery through Sept. 15. The Artists of Eastern Oregon 2003: Connection to Place exhibit is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday at the Loso Hall gallery.

Admission is free.

Strong, high-keyed colors characterize Moses' work in the show. The 17-inch by 28-inch oil painting called "Blue Sky" uses a glazed technique to ensure the popping colors.

On art, the Montana native and first generation non-farmer says, "It's better than golf and almost as good as fishing."

Some question the right brain-left brain dichotomy of his vocation and avocation.

"It's balancing the hard sciences of the job," he says, "with something that's more free and personal."

People around town know Moses' art. He has connections to the community through volunteer work at Arts for All, where he has done at least 100 charcoal portraits of kids.

He also has helped Eastern Oregon Regional Arts Council with its Web site — www. eou.edu/eorac .

His heroes and role models include New England artist Winslow Homer (1836-1910), Americana artist Edward Hopper and illustrator/artist Maxfield Parrish.

"I gravitate toward late 19th and early 20th-century artists — when photography was not so big and when illustration was hugely respected as a medium."

Moses credits high school art teachers Faith Snyder and Claudia Schwaub in Spokane with lighting a fire under his avocation.

After a stint in Seattle doing computer illustration and graphics, he segued into computer publishing when he helped set up the publishing system for Tri-County Publications in Elmira.

Moses has been the EOU webmaster for five years, and he and wife Betty live in La Grande,

Despite the oil painting in the Connection to Place exhibit, Moses is mostly known as a watercolorist. His art is more than a hobby; he has sold works throughout the country and around the world.

And his art includes more than just painting and drawing. He also has launched into woodworking using traditional Japanese tools with a goal of making picture frames featuring carvings.

His pursuit of art has taken him around the world. Moses has painted in Mexico and on two trips to Europe, and finds that when you set up a portable easel in a foreign land you are welcomed into a community much faster than when you stick a camera in someone's face.

But he doesn't have to go thousands of miles to find inspiration.

"I can drive in any direction out of La Grande and find inspiring places to paint," Moses says. Catherine Creek, Anthony Lakes, Joseph and Strawberry Mountain are among his favorites.

Some 90 percent of his watercolors are done on site. He never works from a photo because he thinks it distracts.

But just because he's on the scene doesn't mean he paints exactly what's in front of him.

The lake might move from right to left, the gnarled tree and granite boulder from back to front. Light, too, might be changed to a more ideal intensity and angle.

"Most of my paintings are composites," Moses explains. "It's like a stage set where you move props around."

Then the good part happens. Creativity kicks in, pieces fall together, ideas synchronize — moments all artists enjoy, no matter what century they inhabit.