ART/SNEAK PEEK : NORTHRIDGE ARTIST IN NIXON COUNTRY.

You won't find G. Gordon Liddy, Sam Ervin or, heaven forbid, Deep Throat at the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace this fall.

But you will find Rosa Parks, Thomas Jefferson and Mikhail Gorbachev, not to mention Mao Zedong, Neil Armstrong, and Orville and Wilbur Wright.

Depicted in highly theatrical settings, these larger-than-life figures appear courtesy of Billy F. Baumann, a 74-year-old Northridge aircraft designer turned avid amateur painter.

It was his love of American history's rich themes, Baumann said, that inspired him to illustrate some of the nation's greatest hits, including Jefferson's writing of the Declaration of Independence, the Minutemen's attack at Concord Bridge, Armstrong's giant leap for mankind and Rosa Park's defiant Montgomery bus ride.

Library officials liked the results so much, they're giving Baumann his first-ever exhibition. Titled ``Dramatic Moments in American History,'' the collection of 14 paintings, all measuring an identical 22.5 inches by 36 inches, will be on view through Nov. 2. The library is located in Yorba Linda, about 30 miles southeast of Los Angeles, in Orange County.

No one seems more surprised at this sudden attention than the modest, retired Rockwell employee, a native Tennessean who has lived in Northridge for the past 45 years. Before the Nixon Library accepted them, the paintings had only been seen on a guest bedroom wall of the home where Baumann and his wife, Nancy, raised their three sons.

``I always wanted to get the paintings shown all in the same place,'' Baumann said as he walked a visitor through the exhibition last week. ``I never thought it would be someplace this nice.''

Library director John H. Taylor said the exhibition is the most popular of the 39 held since the private facility dedicated to the 37th U.S. president opened in 1990.

``I've never seen (visitors) linger more than at Billy Baumann's show,'' Taylor said. ``What Billy's show does is to give a thumbnail sketch of decisive moments, moments when we faced important moments as a people and as a culture and made marginal improvements as a result.

``The pictures are beautifully composed and thought out. It is hard not to be proud of your country when you look at them,'' he said.

Baumann took up painting after spending 10 years at Lockheed in Burbank and 33 more in the North American Aircraft Division of Rockwell International. Upon retiring, he started taking art classes at California State University, Northridge, where his instructors weren't always encouraging, he said.

One bluntly told him, ``You're never going to be a great artist because you're just plain, everyday, middle-of-the-road American. You're not bizarre enough.''

Baumann decided that plain, everyday, middle-of-the-road was good enough for him. He began researching his subjects, often visiting the spots where events occurred and doing extensive reading on the historical period.

``I like to do realistic art,'' he said. ``This is the way it comes out. I can't do it any other way.''

He's already at work on his 15th painting, dealing with the Allied landing at Omaha Beach on D-Day, 1944.

The library and birthplace are open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Parking is free. For directions and admission fees, call [phone].

Getting with the Getty

The new $1 billion Getty Center and J. Paul Getty Museum, which officially opens to the public Dec. 16, will begin accepting general parking reservations starting Sept. 28. The Center already is accepting parking reservations for groups of 15 or more people.

Admission to the Getty Center is free, as it was for the Getty's Malibu facility. But parking is $5 per car, and reservations are required. Visitors arriving by taxi, public bus, motorcycle or bicycle don't need a reservation.

To make a group or general reservation, or for more information (in Spanish or English), call [phone].

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Photo

Photo: Billy Baumann's exhibition includes ``Day of Infamy,'' left, depicting the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and ``First Powered, Sustained and Controlled Flight,'' honoring the Wright brothers' flight at Kitty Hawk, N.C.

Bob Halvorsen/Daily News