American painter, Jerry Rodney Dennis, was born in Washington, D.C. He was exposed to museum quality paintings and sculptures beginning at a very early age at the Smithsonian Institution. There he was given the opportunity to be invited in a special drawing and painting workshop where one of his pieces was retained. Realizing that Rodney possessed unusual talent and skill in drawing and painting as well as a keen sense of observation, Rod began receiving professional art instruction from a local portrait artist by the age of 14. After pursuing his interest in the arts throughout his childhood, he went on to earn an Associates Degree in Visual Communication. During this time, Rod’s talents were recognized by Portrait Artist Henry Koener, who spent time with Rod and gave him additional instruction. Rod pursued both Commercial Illustration as well Art Direction and Graphic Design for Fortune 100 companies before he went on to train under Nationally known Portraitist Danni Dawson in 2012. Then he continued his studies at the Bucks County Classical Arts Center an Atelier in Pennsylvania and then to the Academy of Realist Art in Boston - cumulatively for over three years. This special training at the Academy of Realist Art provided him with a unique opportunity to master one of the world’s longest and most important artistic traditions; an academic approach to observing and rendering nature accurately while learning the craft of painting using the techniques of the Old Masters. This knowledge was passed down through a direct lineage of master/pupil relationships which traces itself from the very beginnings of the French Academy in the 18th Century on to America through several of the Boston School painters over a century ago, and finally on to a small group of academically trained painters today; David to Ingres and Gros to Delaroche to Gerome to Paxton (the Boston School) to current lead instructors at the Academy of Realist Art. Among his many artistic influences are the style and narrative found in the work of classical portraitists of centuries past. This includes the work of the Spanish painter Diego Velasquez as well as the Dutch Masters. But one painter who has made a significant impression on Rod was Henry Ossawa Tanner. Although Tanner‘s paintings inspired him long before he even knew who Tanner was, Rod was intrigued, not just with the style of painting and the command of the brush that he possessed, but how he captured an experience that was reflective of a culture of his day. Rod always strives to create visual images that are impeccably crafted, and his desire is not just to replicate the tangible but to capture the intangible, the essence, the spirit, of the human condition. The challenge is not only a quest for relevance, but also an endeavor to encounter the substance of not only who they are, but what they believe. He seeks that every painting resonates, not just the cultural happenings of this day, but captures the very innocence, the beauty, and the heart of people. He is suggesting a spiritual encounter and is embarking upon a lifelong commitment to communicate it. Rod’s additional seminary training and graduate work in the social sciences, as well as his visual communications and fine art education and training, will aid him in exploring and meeting this objective.