Bill Hinsch still remembers the day John Glenn climbed aboard Friendship 7 and took off into the heavens. He was 8 years old, sketching the launch in his notebook and trying to capture the moment.
Hinsch’s extraterrestrial interests would fade, but his love of art remained. Living in Toledo throughout his 20s, he was mentored by visual storytellers including Harley Copic, with whom he would later collaborate.
Hinsch took what he learned and began working for local Toledo publications, crafting social and political cartoons and graphics. He also created commissioned photo-realistic portraits, which led him to become known for both his highly realistic painting skills and his clever conceptual art pieces.
Copic, an aviation artist who had earned recognition in the niche craft, introduced Hinsch to the Air Force Art Program, where Hinsch rediscovered his love for aviation and space.
In 2003, Hinsch and Copic combined their skills to create a piece celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first flight, to be displayed at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Hinsch’s aviation art is also on display at other prominent government buildings, including the Pentagon.
In 2023, Hinsch was chosen from many well-known and established artists to create a commissioned piece for the Ohio Statehouse.
“(A friend) said, ‘You should apply for that’ because he knew about my aviation work,” Hinsch says. “I thought, ‘Man, I’m not going to win this because I’m not an institution artist.’ You know, somebody that paints for museums or paints for the Statehouse. …But then I got to thinking, there’s nobody probably better than me at this because of my unique thing, which is portrait work, being able to capture likeness and concept.”
The oil painting, titled Ohioans in Space, includes portraits of Neil Armstrong, John Glenn, Jim Lovell, Judy Resnik and Gene Kranz. The project took Hinsch over a year to complete and is the first painting to be added to the Statehouse Rotunda in 70 years.
Maisie Fitzmaurice is an editor at Cityscene Media Group. Feedback welcome at mfitzmaurice@cityscenemediagroup.com.
