In 1970 he began his career as a photorealist painter in Bondville, Vermont; many of his paintings from this period depict parts of automobiles and motorcycles in close-up.

As his works can appear half-real, half-abstract, it is not surprising that the artist himself describes abstract realism as "a total oxymoron.

"[3] In addition to his urban subjects, Heinze has also painted dilapidated farm equipment such as tractors and water pumps, and old trains and locomotive engines; in Exactitude: Hyperrealist Art Today, John Russell Taylor writes that "Heinze is fascinated by decaying machinery left behind as the detritus of the Industrial Revolution.

"[4] He has also done series of paintings depicting rocky cliffsides, vineyard grapes, and streams; much of his subject matter is characterized by complex reflections off glass or water, intricate foliage, and deep background blacks with saturated colors in the foreground.

In Photorealism at the Millennium, Louis K. Meisel writes that Heinze "has not settled into any particular subject matter or point of view.