Excerpt from CityScene Magazine
and the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. One of my most significant works, an eight-foot painting commemorating 100 years of flight, features Ohio’s great aviators, including John Glenn and Neil Armstrong, alongside Harley’s meticulously detailed aircraft. In 2003, I had the extraordinary privilege of creating a painting for the Ohio Statehouse Rotunda. Known as the "Mount Rushmore of Spacemen," this work celebrates Ohio’s legendary astronauts, including John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, and others who have shaped the history of space exploration. This piece now hangs alongside works by Howard Chandler Christy, one of America’s most revered portrait artists, marking a pinnacle achievement in my career. In 2003, after 15 years at Root Learning, I established Learning Visuals, my own company dedicated to helping corporations around the globe visualize their strategies and processes. Simultaneously, I returned to my roots as a portrait artist, completing over 200 commissions in the past 15 years. My work spans the everyday to the extraordinary, each piece a testament to the power of art to capture the human spirit. Today, entering my seventh decade and celebrating 50 years in art, I still draw and paint every day. From my early days crafting Christmas cards with my mother to my most recent portrait, every stroke of the brush has been a fulfillment of a lifelong dream. My studio, filled with memories and milestones, stands as a testament to the journey of an artist who has cherished every moment of a remarkable career.
Hinsch Christmas card, 1966
I also worked freelance at the Julius Oroz Studio in Toledo, where Bob Heindel—later recognized as one of America’s premier illustrators—had also honed his skills. The studio was a crucible of talent, exposing me to the artistry and professionalism of the era’s greatest illustrators. When the newspaper and magazine industries began to pivot toward photography and away from illustration, I seized the opportunity to reinvent myself. In 1992, I co-founded Root Learning in Perrysburg, Ohio, alongside businessman Randall Root. We pioneered the concept of "learning maps," a visual storytelling tool that revolutionized corporate training and strategy visualization. Over 30 years, I built and led teams of concept artists and designers, producing over 500 maps that remain in use today. While my corporate endeavors flourished, my passion for portraiture never waned. A serendipitous friendship with renowned aviation artist Harley Copic took me around the world, depicting iconic figures in aviation history. My portraits of Clarence “Bud” Anderson, General Joe Engle, and Chief of Staff Merrill McPeak hang in the Pentagon.
in her own right, shaped the world I would draw my inspiration from. It was my mother who first recognized my talent and fueled it, enlisting me to create our family’s Christmas cards starting at the age of eight. These weren’t ordinary cards—they were intricate designs etched into plates and printed on a small press, adorned with glitter and hand-painted colors. A snowman made of ivy leaves on one of these cards became a defining metaphor for my career: blending unexpected elements to tell a story. By the time I was 16, my talents caught the eye of Merle People, the publisher of my hometown newspaper, the News Tribune. There, I began crafting ad layouts and illustrations, including a memorable portrait of President Lyndon Johnson that earned a spot in the paper’s front window. That experience ignited a passion for art that would define my life. One of my earliest and most cherished works, a haunting portrait of Humphrey Bogart, still hangs in my studio today—a lasting connection to my mother and her belief in my talent. At 19, fresh out of high school, I joined the Toledo Blade as an advertising staff artist, quickly rising through the ranks to become the creative director of its Sunday magazine. This role gave me the opportunity to collaborate with luminaries in the art world, including Bob Heindel, Bernie Fuchs, Bob Peak, and Mark English. Their influence helped me hone my craft and envision a future where my work could transcend traditional boundaries. During this time,
"Solitude is an artist's greatest ally, creating the quiet space where distractions fade and the work can take on a life of its own."
—Willem DeKooning
For much of my career, I worked in cramped, makeshift studios alongside other artists or painted in the basements of various houses I lived in. None of those spaces were ideal, and my current house isn’t well-suited to a studio setup either. Thankfully, I found an excellent space here in Perrysburg that’s perfect for my work. This studio provides the balance of natural light, quiet, and openness I need to reflect and create. The thoughtful flow and arrangement foster focus and solitude, while its calming energy allows ideas to come to life with ease.When I worked on the Astronaut painting for the Columbus Statehouse rotunda, I had to leave my main studio for a temporary workspace that was far from ideal. The lighting was a major challenge—harsh overhead bulbs created glare on the painting’s surface, forcing me to improvise. I used special non-glare glasses, a miner-style headlamp, and polarizing lenses to minimize reflections. I even adjusted the ceiling bulbs to angle away from the painting. These workarounds added unnecessary difficulty and slowed my progress, making the experience far more challenging than it needed to be.
In contrast, my Perrysburg studio offers everything I need to produce my best art. Over the years, I have increasingly turned off my intellectual mind and depended on my hands to "just do the work." The music, the talk, and the silence—each at different times—facilitate this important process of setting aside the analytical brain and allowing the work to simply emerge. I often listen to Chopin, whose music helps me find a natural flow. When I need a break, I switch to barely audible talk radio or embrace complete silence, sometimes working for 10-hour stretches. This studio has become a sanctuary, a place where creativity is free to unfold, and where my art truly comes alive.
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