A Kentucky native, Stinson attended Western Kentucky University (1978 – 1983) earning a BA and later attended Florida State University (1985 – 1988) where he earned his MFA in Studio Art. Stinson studied under British artist, Trevor Bell, known for his large, shaped canvases exploring the technical and emotive use of color. He also worked under American artist, Ray Burggraf, who was inspired by the German Bauhaus of the 1930s, as well as the Op Art movement of the 1960s. Stinson, who was a minimalist painter at the time, took inspiration from both artists while developing his own unique visual language.

Since graduating from Florida State University, Stinson has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions. While still living in Florida, Stinson’s artwork was selected as part of the Jacksonville Art Museum's Photons-Phonons-Electrons exhibit. This exhibit offered an overview of light, kinetic, and sound artworks produced since the 1920s. The exhibit included works by artists such as Marcel Duchamp and Jean Tingluey and contemporary artists such as Alice Aycock, Steve Berry, Howard Jones, and Eric Orr.

 

In 1989, while living in Tallahassee, Stinson assisted James Turrell, renowned light artist, with the exhibition of his artworks at the Florida State University Gallery. Stinson assisted with the construction of Turrell’s site-specific installations and designed and built the light projectors for one of his original Dark Spaces.