Ella Xu 




PROFILE
Email: Yuexu0409@gmail.com
Instagram: @a.soft.boiled.artist

Ella Xu is an illustrator based in Providence, RI & Vancouver, BC.  She is currently attending the Rhode Island School of Design Pursuing a BFA in Illustration.

Her work explores themes of innocence and girlhood. She brings a touch of tenderness to editorial illustration, creating visuals that serve the story with sincerity.


 
CONTACT
CV 




Education
Rhode Island School of Design
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Illustration
Sep 2025 – Jun 2028(ongoing)

École Secondaire Moscrop Secondary School
High School Diploma
Sep 2022 – Jun 2024

Emily Carr University of Art and Design
Summer institute, Illustration
Jul 2023 – Aug 2023


ExperienceIllustrator
The Brown Daily Herald
Providence.RI
Feb 2026 - present

Illustrator
The College Hill Independent 
Providence.RI
Sep 2025 - Present 

Apprentice Artist
Arts Alive apprenticeship
Burnaby Art Gallery 
Jan 2023 - Apr 2023

Family program volunteer
Vancouver Art Gallery
Jan 2022 - Feb 2022
Skills
  • Original illustration & concept development

  • Editorial illustration 

  • Strong visual storytelling & composition

  • Traditional media: oil, watercolor, acrylic, mixed media, observational drawing

  • Digital illustration & painting using Procreate

  • Proficient in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Figma

  • Artwork preparation for print and digital formats




Exhibitions
The Project Thrive First-Gen Exhibition 
Providence, RI
2025

Emily Carr Summer Teens Exhibition
Vancouver, BC
2023

Artist Apprenticeship: Paper Allegories
Burnaby Art Gallery 
2023

Cowichan Valley Arts Council Youth Art Showcase
Duncan, BC
2021






Last Updated 24.10.31
Works






痣 Moles
Pastel &  Mixmedia 11” x 6”
2025
Personal Work


Murmur
Oil on Canvas 44” x 27”
2026

Coursework for sophmore year ILLUS- Observation & Imagination under instructor Michael Peery

Bitten

 Digital Zine

2026

Coursework for sophmore year ILLUS 2004 - Visual Strategies under instructor Brian G Payne




Where The Horses Go
 Soft Pastel  Mixed Sizes

Illustrations for short story written by Isabel Tribe for The Indy 



“Dance You shall,”
Oil on Canvas board  

Coursework for sophmore year ILLUS 2000 - Visual Thinking under instructor Rob Dobi

Painting inspired by Hans Christian Anderson’s The Red Shoes



Portrait of Tao Lin
Digital (Procreate)

Ilustration for the indy article by Emerson Rhodes

https://www.theindy.org/article/3697




Refuge
Acrylic  11”x11”

2023

Personal Work


Pour Your Heart Out 
Digital (Procreate)

2025

Coursework for sophmore year ILLUS 2000 - Visual Thinking under instructor Rob Dobi





Polish Milk Bar
 Digital (Procrate)

Illustration for the indy article by Peter Zettl

https://www.theindy.org/article/3661



Scoop of Sunset
 Digital (Procreate)

2025

Coursework for sophmore year ILLUS 2000 - Visual Thinking under instructor Rob Dobi





One Page Comic
 Graphite & Digital (Procreate) 

2025

Personal Work

Intimate Objects
(6 of 50 in the series)
 Charcoal

2025

Final Assignment for EFS foundation year Drawing class under instructor Eleanor Lazarek







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