Painter and teacher, born in Colchester, Essex, who said that he wanted “to make a new kind of Pre-Raphaelite painting; but not in a revivalist or nostalgic sense”. Studied at Slade School of Fine Art, 1976–80. From the late 1970s Dennis took part in many group exhibitions, including Whitechapel Open, 1980; Castello Colonna, Genazzano, Italy, 1985; Comic Iconoclasm, at ICA, 1987; South Bank Centre tour The British Art Show, 1990; and John Moores Liverpool Exhibition, from 1997–8. One-man shows began with 5 Dryden Street Gallery and University of Essex, both 1979; a series with Salvatore Ala Gallery, New York, Milan and London, from 1985; Anderson O’Day Gallery, 1994, Chelsea College of Art and Design, 1999, and Art Space Gallery, 2003.