“Asparagus,” Kim Hetherington Submitted photo

DAMARISCOTTA — Works by Kim Hetherington of Bremen will be presented in a solo show of oil paintings at River Arts. Hetherington will install her show on Thursday, Aug. 27, and the work will be on view through Wednesday, Sept. 9. Hetherington has developed an intimate form of realism, choosing subject matter that is close at hand and personalized in her approach to the color, form and compositions.

“Bugle Boy,” Kim Hetherington Submitted photo

Hetherington’s early art training was at Berkeley Heights Elementary School in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey. There she explored collage, potato printing and finger paint. Despite her evident enthusiasm and talent, her art training ended after sixth grade. Hetherington graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1968 and subsequently acquired teaching credentials, a law degree and a certificate in landscape gardening. She began a landscape design business in Washington, D.C. in 1991.

“Beachcomber,” Kim Hetherington Submitted photo

Thinking that more formal art training might enhance her landscape presentations, Hetherington enrolled at the Art League in Alexandria, Virginia. There she learned the basics of oil painting from the extraordinary portrait painter Rob Liberace. She continued her art education with David Leffel, Stanley Bielen, Jon Redmond and Tina Ingraham.

While she always seeks opportunities for portraiture, Hetherington paints still life more frequently, as fruit, flowers, vegetables and crockery are always at hand. She has participated in open and juried group shows in Washington, D.C. and in the Mid-Coast area and has had numerous solo shows. She is inspired by Winston Churchill, who famously took up painting later in life. When discouraged, she remembers his admonition: “The first quality needed is audacity. There really is no time for the deliberate approach. We may content ourselves with a joy ride in a paint box.”

The River Room is in the gallery at 36 Elm St. Regular hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays. For more information, call River Arts at 207-563- 6868.

Kim Hetherington Submitted photo