Born in Spokane, Washington, in 1947 Dennis’  mother recalled that he possessed an extraordinary ability to name every car that passed during drives in the family’s vehicle.  This early aptitude for automotive design laid the foundation for his subsequent career as an automotive sculptor, with three-dimensional art becoming his primary focus,  perhaps prompted by his mother’s thoughtful gift of a wooden model of a Midget race car in 1951, which he still cherishes  today.

In essence, this early aptitude for automotive design led him to embark on a journey of automotive design and artistic expression.  Initially his focus was on scale, proportions, and intricate details.  However, he soon recognized the need to infuse each piece with a unique and distinct character.  His ability to transcend the boundaries of traditional wood sculpture by exploring the concept of speed and motion, manipulating the wood in a manner that evokes an immediate and intense sense of speed and motion is extraordinary.

Throughout his artistic endeavors, his work has garnered widespread acclaim as a truly unique form of art. Over the past three decades, more than 100 articles and stories have been dedicated to his creations and the inspiration behind them.  He’s been honored with the prestigious Athena Award six times at the Pebble Beach Concours de Elegance, the Lincoln Award of Excellence, and the inaugural Raymond E. Holland Award for Vision and Creativity in Automotive Art and the Peter Helck Award of Excellence twice.  Furthermore, he holds the distinction of being the first automotive artist to be unanimously inducted into the Automotive Fine Arts Society.

Notably, he is the only automotive artist to have had a solo exhibition at the Shanghai International Circuit, China, at the Ferrari Festival event.  He is the only automotive artist to have had a solo exhibition at the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix under the patronage of His Royal Highness Shaikh Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minster of Bahrain.  Most recently, he was the first artist to sell and exhibit a life-size sculpture of a Formula 1 car in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Despite his unwavering desire to push the boundaries of automotive art, he approaches this pursuit not as a literal interpretation but as an exploration of the multifaceted nature of the automobile and the potential to illuminate the creativity in others.  In this vein he is currently engaged in a project that aims to assist the blind or those with low vision, in comprehending and perceiving a life size sculpture of a Formula 1 car.