About the artist

Fine Arts

John Ennis is an American artist, recognized throughout the United States for his work in portraiture. His commissioned portraits are included in the collections of University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, Drexel University, and other universities too numerous to include here. Collections at the United States Naval Academy, the National Insitute of Health, the Supreme Court of Massachusetts, Boston Latin School, Massachusetts General Hospital, and M.I.T also include his work as well as the Turner Corporation, Southern California Edison and other companies throughout the US.

Ennis graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art, and studied figure painting at the Art Students League of New York under Jack Faragasso and Robert Emil Shulz and privately with Michael Aviano, all former students of Frank J. Reilly.

Illustration Career

After graduating from the MICA, Ennis moved to New York City to study painting at the Art Students League. Establishing a career in the early 1980s as a freelance book cover illustrator, Ennis illustrated for all of the American book publishers, as well as Canadian publisher Harlequin Enterprises. He painted hundreds of illustrations in oils until 1994, when he became a pioneer of digital illustration, introducing it to the book publishing industry as a more efficient medium, adding another thousand illustrations to his oeuvre. In 1997 he authored the book Going Digital, An Artist's Guide to Computer Illustration published by Madison Square Press. In the same year he served on the faculty of the Macworld Expo in Boston. He was interviewed for an article in Newsweek magazine for the article "Throw Out The Brushes”. He left illustration in the early 2000’s to establish a career in the fine arts.

AWARDS Selected List

Philadelphia Sketch Club Medal for achievements in the visual arts 2022

Portrait Society of America: Honorable Mention, Member Competition, Commissioned Portraits 2014

Portrait Society of America: 10th Honorable Mention, Member Competition 2013

Portrait Society of America: 6th Place, Member Competition, Commissioned Portraits 2013

Portrait Society of America: Certificate of Excellence international competition 2009

Portrait Society of America: Honorable Mention Men, Member Competition 2009

Portrait Society of America: Fifth Place Children Member Competition 2009

Portrait Society of America: Honorable Mention Outdoor Portrait Competition 2007

Portrait Society of America: Best Portfolio Annual Conference 2007

Portrait Society of America: Honors Award international competition 2006

Portrait Society of America: Finalist Children's Portrait Competition 2006

Portrait Society of America: First Place Self-Portrait Competition 2005

Portrait Society of America: Best Portfolio Annual Conference 2005

Portrait Society of America: Honors Award international competition 2004

Portrait Society of America: Best Portfolio Annual Conference 2004, 2005, 2007

Portrait Society of America: Certificate of Recognition international competition 2003

The Artists Magazine's 24th Annual Art Competition: Finalist-Portrait & Figures

The Artists Magazine's 22nd Annual Art Competition: Finalist-Portrait & Figures

The Artists Magazine's 21st Annual Art Competition: Finalist-Portrait & Figures

The Artists Magazine's 21st Annual Art Competition: First Place-Animal Art

Woodmere Art Museum Annual Juried Show: Award for Portraiture

Phillips' Mill 77th Annual Fall Exhibition: Patrons' Award