American painter David Hettinger began drawing around the age of 8. His subjects were T.V. and movie cowboys. At age 13 he was given a set of oil paints by Mike Spencer, a local artist who ran the barber shop across from St. Joe's School where Hettinger was a student. Formal art training began at the American Academy of Art in Chicago under Joseph vanden Brouck. Under Mr. Van, as he was called, Hettinger learned classical realism and the techniques of the Flemish, Dutch and Spanish Masters. After four years at the academy, Hettinger moved to New York City where he studied with David Leffel and Richard Schmid.
