[1] He is best known for his watercolor illustrations for children's books such as Jacqueline Woodson’s The Other Side and Jabari Asim’s Preaching to the Chickens: The Story of Young John Lewis.
[4] Lewis' career as an illustrator of children's books began in 1992 after his watercolors in Artist Magazine were noticed by agents Elizabeth O’Grady and her husband, Jeff Dwyer.
They had ties to an art director from Simon & Schuster who at that time was seeking African American artists to illustrate children's books.
[4] Since then, he has provided illustrations for books such as Nikki Grimes' Talkin' About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman, Alice Schertle's Down the Road, Tolowa M. Mollel's My Rows and Piles of Coins, Gavin Curtis' Bat Boy and His Violin, Mary Ann Rodman's My Best Friend, and Jacqueline Woodson's The Other Side.
[8] In 2011, Lewis took a two and a half year hiatus to develop the direction of his fine art work, citing that he wanted to "speak to what’s happening in our society".