Dennis Lewan’s initial interest in art started when he was 5, and he began to draw. By the age of ten, he would often be reprimanded for drawing during the class’s regular studies.

While he did not have any formal art training, he did exhibit a natural talent for music after he took accordion lessons. He would go on to compose his own music. He later purchased a guitar and began teaching himself to play. Shortly thereafter he joined a band and began to design his own original posters.

One day while in Chicago, Lewan decided to visit a notable local art museum. Dennis was captivated by the paintings done by the “Old Masters”, so much in fact that he himself would experiment with different methods of oil painting, sometimes as much as 16 hours a day. By the end of the 70’s, Lewan had the chance to sell his own works to a Chicago art gallery. At this point in time many felt his works were comparable to the “Old Masters” that he admired so much.

Dennis Lewan has developed a style with original techniques and has become "the modern day master of realism, romanticism and fantasy". He says, "I concentrate on picking up where the "Old Masters" left off, by adding camouflaged images in many of my paintings. I like to have a painting tell a story and stimulate the imagination of everyone who views it. I like to create in each painting a special place that people want to 'walk into and visit' ".