Photo/Juidin Bernarrd
Ella Orencillo is part of the movement that popularized urban art in the UAE.
She was born Romela Elenzano Orencillo, but everyone today knows her as Ella Orencillo. This Filipino artist was born and raised in Quezon City, Philippines. She’ll be 39 this year, and says, “I can’t wait to be 40!”
Ella, who started her career as an airbrush artist in the Philippines in 1999, now calls the UAE her second home. Watching her at work, it’s tough to guess why she insists on calling herself a pedantic artist, but as we get talking, one learns about her passions, quirks, inspirations, and more. But foremost she clarifies (laughs), “My mother thought she was having a boy and was planning to call me Romel, but ended up having me (a baby girl) hence decided to call me Romela.” We track her artistic journey, which started in the UAE in 2008. Though she started to paint whilst she worked as a receptionist, “Having worked as an artist since I was 16, I realis