by Elizabeth Kington

Jim Hettler is an animated twenty-four year old artist, musician and, from time-to-time, stage actor. The friendly, bright-eyed young man pursued a career in the visual arts at Mercer County College and produces his artwork from his New Jersey home.

Upon my arrival to the Hettler residence on a humid afternoon in early August, I stepped into the family room to find artist, Jim Hettler, leaned over a work in progress—a new self-portrait. Various supplies and a briefcase full of painting essentials littered the small dark wood coffee table. The only sound came from a bulky grey fan atop a piano bench as its blades spun to relieve the room of some of the sweltering summer heat. Seated on a worn, blue-striped sofa, Jim alternated his attention between an unassuming white-framed mirror and his canvas as his paint brush delivered smooth strokes of grey paint to the surface. Being made aware of my presence, the cheerful artist greeted me with a light-hearted grin and the wave of his paintbrush.

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