Born in Mountain Grove (a small rural town in the Missouri Ozarks) Dennis was the fourth of six children. Being a member of a devoutly Christian family, he logged a lot of pew time at the local Baptist Church, and made good use of his time there by honing his artistic abilities on church bulletins. After graduating from High School, Dennis attended Southwest Missouri State University where he studied art. During those college years, he spent his summers working at amusement parks (Opryland & Silver Dollar City) where he drew caricatures. Dennis graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree (or something to that effect) and stumbled blindly into a career as a freelance illustrator. After spending the 90's in Texas, Dennis and his wife Karen moved to Indiana with their two sons, Nick and Pete, where they live today. For fun he plays in a men's hockey league where he pretends to be Wayne Gretzky, but plays more like Wayne Gretzkowski, the seventy-three year old store greeter at the local Wal-Mart. He also plays bass for the praise band at his church where he continues to insist that a pyrotechnics show and a hydraulic stage would really add a lot to the praise band's contribution during Sunday morning worship services.