My paintings celebrate the visually absorbing shapes, colors, textures and eccentric details of the urban landscape. For me, buildings are the significant carriers of cultural memory. Surviving the builders and residents, they are reminders of remoter lives and times. Over the years, a city takes on an almost geological aspect, with successive generations leaving behind a layering of architectural styles. The enduring physical makeup of a city directly influences its culture as well as its ability to survive as a place people care about.

My landscapes are always without people. The buildings are the complete statement. Many people have observed that the buildings in my paintings seem strangely animated, as if they had personalities of their own. The windows, shutters and doors read almost like facial features, elements of individuality that make their presence felt. The scenes I paint are realistic in perspective, but imaginative in detail, color and lighting. My architectural subjects are often idealized to the status of an timeless icon.

Born in Schenectady, New York, I grew up in Manchester, Connecticut and attended East Catholic High School. From an early age, art was an integral part of my earliest influences and memories as I was surrounded by a diverse group of artists for classes and art openings at my parents' home.  My mom (Gail Hinchen), is a mixed-media collage artist who operated her own gallery for over 30 years.  Starting to draw in earnest as a child, I studied for many summers with painter and close family friend, Elden Rowland. A noted Abstract Expressionist, Roland was also adept at painting realistic portraits and seascapes. He studied with Robert Brackman and Jerry Farnsworth. Farnsworth was a student of Charles Hawthorne, the founder of the Cape Cod School of Art (1899). Roland and my grandmother, Helen von Borstel were artistic companions, painting and teaching together in Truro, Massachusetts and Sarasota, Florida for over 40 years (1950s-1980s). My grandmother was a prolific painter who specialized in impressionistic figures and botanical landscapes. She was a member of the Oak Room Artists and won numerous awards including Best in Show at the Cooperstown National. Rowland and von Borstel exhibited their work extensively in Albany, Provincetown, Sarasota and the Art in Embassies Program throughout Europe and Asia.

Early on, I was inspired by the lonely landscapes of Edward Hopper and brilliant color staging of Maxfield Parrish. Essentially a self-taught architectural artist, my interests in aesthetics, history, urban design and social policy have always influenced my work. I received a B.A. in philosophy and political science from Drew University and an M.A. in political philosophy from Columbia University.

For many years, I worked solely in pen and black ink. Slowly, I introduced color and have since developed a completely original technique which is characterized by precise ink images with acrylic tones painted over each other, resembling thin semi-opaque or transparent layers. When dry, it produces a smooth matte finish. I work exclusively on wood panels, preferring a hard surface over canvas. Other artists and collectors have compared my medium to egg tempera which employs the application of numerous small brush strokes and produces a brilliant, luminous finish. Prominent egg tempera artists include nearly every painter of the Italian Renaissance and Twentieth-Century revival artists such as Thomas Hart Benton and Andrew Wyeth.

I'm a full-time artist who has spent the last 35 years creating over 3000 original commissions for individual clients. The majority of my drawings and paintings are of historic homes and landmark buildings in Metro New York, the Hudson Valley, Greater Boston and coastal New England. My work is featured in numerous corporate and private art collections.

Currently a member of the Historic Albany Foundation’s Board of Directors, I recently appeared on WAMC’s Roundtable radio program to discuss the organization’s 50th anniversary, my artwork and our Built: Albany’s Architecture Through Artist’s Eyes Exhibition. Historic Albany Foundation is a private not-for-profit membership-based organization that works to preserve and protect buildings with architectural, historic, or civic value. They do this through educational and hands-on programming including tours, workshops and lectures; technical assistance; advocacy for endangered buildings; and they run a Tool Lending Library and Architectural Parts Warehouse.

My work has been featured in exhibitions at the Albany Institute of History and Art, New York State Museum, Provincetown Art Association and Museum, Slater Memorial Museum, Salmagundi Club, Albany Center Gallery, Lichtenstein Center for Arts, New York State Capitol, Albany Symphony's Vanguard Show House and Historic Albany Foundation's Built Show 2001-2024. Since 2018, I’ve been the Built Exhibition Committee Chairperson.  I'm a member of the Salmagundi Club of New York City (founded in 1871, past members include NC Wyeth, George Inness and Norman Rockwell), an associate member of Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts (featured in the 113th Annual Juried Exhibition), a member of the Berkshire Art Association (featured in the 2024 Visible Biennial Juried Show) and represented in the U.S. Department of State’s Art in Embassies Exhibition (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina).

There’s a large selection of my paintings and prints available at the David Hinchen Gallery at 261 State Street in Albany. After a two year renovation (for which I received a 2021 Preservation Merit Award from the Historic Albany Foundation), the gallery now occupies the first floor of an historic Center Square mansion. Please call, text or email me to arrange an appointment to visit gallery. My artwork can also be seen and purchased at the Argus Hotel and Cocktail Lounge, 8 Thurlow Terrace in Albany.

I recently attended Community Media Day of Action at the New York State Capitol and was interviewed by BronxNet. The event brought together a diverse coalition of arts advocates, lawmakers and community leaders, all united to safeguard the future of Public and Educational media access centers across New York.

Why do so many artists create paintings of the iconic Lobster Pot Restaurant in Provincetown, Massachusetts? A varied group of artists, including myself, share their opinions in the Provincetown Independent.

For more on what inspires me to paint historic cityscapes, watch my conversation with Matthew Rogowicz on the WMHT / PBS television program, AHA! - A House for the Arts. I share my thoughts on art and architecture in this interview with Liam Sweeny for Radioradiox Magazine.

Please visit my Etsy Shop for a large selection of paintings, prints and photographs. Custom house portraits and gift certificates can also be ordered here: