Working at the orphanage was pleasant, but Li Xuying, who loved painting, still longed to continue her studies in art. In 1925, she was admitted to the National Beijing Art School in the Department of Pattern Design, embarking on her artistic career.
Little is known about Li Xuying’s time at the school, except for a 1927 issue of the “Morning Post” supplement “The Weekly Pictorial” where she was mentioned in relation to the sensational “Beijing Art Conference.” The conference, initiated by Lin Fengmian, the school’s principal, opened on May 11 with great fanfare. Lasting over twenty days, it showcased more than 3,000 art pieces and featured performances, lectures, critiques, dances, and a graduation party. The event included famous artists like Li Kuchan, Wang Daizhi, Wang Xuetao, Liu Kaiqu, and Qi Baishi. Li Xuying, then a student, participated with a work named “Pattern.” After graduating in 1929, she stayed on to teach, skipping the assistant role to become a lecturer, a testament to her excellence.
In 1929, Li Xuying, along with Wang Lihua, who also graduated and stayed as a teaching assistant, founded the Xuli Pattern Society. They held exhibitions in Zhongshan Park and the Young Men’s Christian Association and displayed their works at the National Goods Exhibition Hall for several days. （ “The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) – Venue for Art Events in Beiping During the Republic of China Era,” Shen Pingzi, originally published in “Famous Calligraphers and Painters.”） The “Liangyou” pictorial, in its 39th issue of September 1929, also featured their works. On October 29, 1932, an art exhibition at the Young Men’s Christian Association included Li Xuying and Wang Lihua’s art patterns. Young Li Xuying seemed quite active in the Beijing art scene.
According to Mr. Peng Fei’s summary of the Beijing National School of Fine Arts teaching staff, Li Xuying taught in the Pattern Department from 1930. The curriculum slightly varied over the years: from 1931 to 1932, it was ‘Practical Art Patterns’; in 1934, ‘Astronomical, Geographical, and Text Patterns’; from 1935 to 1936, the department split into Patterns and Crafts, with Li Xuying teaching in the latter; from 1936-1937, after the Crafts Department was dissolved, she became a full-time lecturer in Pattern Design. The other notable professors in the department were Li Youxing, the founder of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, and Pang Xunqin, considered a pioneer of modern Chinese design.
After the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, a part of the faculty and students of the National Beijing Art School, led by Principal Zhao Tai’ou (1889-1968), relocated first to Lushan in Jiangxi, then to Jiujiang and Wuhan, before finally merging with the National Hangzhou Art School in Hunan Yu’anling in March 1938 as per the Ministry of Education’s order. Meanwhile, Li Xuying and her husband Wang Yuanqi, after temporarily staying in Nanjing, intended to go to Sichuan passing through Wuhan. Li Xuying, pregnant at the time, gave birth to her second daughter in Wuhan and was unable to continue westward, so she returned to Beijing. Her husband also returned to Beijing due to illness and passed away at the end of 1938. The remaining faculty and students in Beijing, then under Japanese occupation, reorganized in May 1938 to establish the National Beijing Art Specialized School, with Wang Shizhi as the principal. Li Xuying was rehired to continue teaching. The school’s history during the Japanese occupation is considered a shameful period and is rarely studied. It’s known that the Japanese government required the addition of Japanese teachers, including the important modern Japanese dye and pattern expert, Kashima Eiji. According to Mr. Wang Shizhi’s recollections, the Japanese teachers, including Kashima, “sympathized with the Chinese people, and the students welcomed them.” (Liu Xilin, “Two Historical Events of the Beijing National School of Fine Arts” in The Beijing National School of Fine Arts and the Republic of China’s Art. p48)
After the war, the Beiping National School of Arts was rebuilt, and in May 1946, Xu Beihong was appointed as the principal. According to my mother, there was considerable controversy regarding the retention of the faculty who remained during the war, and there was a delay in renewing Li’s contract. During this period, Li Xuying visited Xu Beihong at his residence on Dongshoulu Street and invited him to her solo exhibition, where she received high praise and finally obtained her appointment letter. In fact, Xu Beihong did not arrive in Beijing until August 1946, about the same time of Li Xuying’s solo exhibition, and he moved to Dongshoulu Street in the autumn of 1947 (Liao Jingwen, Biography of Xu Beihong, p. 428). If Li Xuying indeed received her contract after visiting Xu, the location couldn’t have been Dongshoulu Street. According to available records, she attended the All-China Art Association Beijing Branch meeting in 1946 as a council member. In the spring of 1947, Li Xuying also appeared in a major joint exhibition of teachers and students at the Beijing National School of Arts. In Xu Beihong’s review of the exhibition, he mentioned, “This time the pattern section was led by Mr. Xu Zhenpeng, Mr. Gao Lifang, and Ms. Li Xuying, and the output was rich.” (Huabei Daily – Art, Issue 15, April 10, 1947.) Compared to Xu’s comments on other specialties, patterns seemed not to be his focus. In July 1947, a confidential letter signed by the ‘Beijing National Beijing School of Arts Student Self-Government Association’ and sent to the Ministry of Education mentioned that Xu Beihong had dismissed eight teachers this semester, including Li Xuying. If the information is true, then Li Xuying’s connection with the Beijing National School of Arts came to an end in the mid 1947.
慈幼院的工作虽然惬意，热爱绘画的李旭英仍旧渴望继续升学专门学习美术。1925年，她考入国立北京艺术专门学校图案系，开始了她的艺术生涯。
李旭英在校学习期间的情景不得详知，仅在1927年《晨报》副刊《星期画报》第八十五号上关于轰动一时的“北京艺术大会”找到她的名字。大会由当时艺专校长林风眠（1900-1991）发起，5月11日大会开幕，声势浩大，历时二十多天，展出美术作品3000余件，并举办各种演出、讲座、批评会、舞会和毕业生欢送会等，形式多样，盛况空前。根据《星期画报》的报道，参展的有李苦禅，王代之，王雪涛，刘开渠，齐白石等著名艺术家。当时还是学生的李旭英以名为《图案》的作品参展。1929年毕业后，李旭英留校任教，跨过助教直接被聘为讲师，可见其优秀。
1929年，李旭英还与同年毕业留校做助教的汪黎化创办了旭黎图案社。她们在中山公园举办展览，又在青年会展览三日，并应国货陈列馆之请将所有作品陈列该馆数日。（“青年会所留美名——民国时期北京（平）举办美术活动场所之二”作者沈平子 原载《书画名家》） 1929年 9 月 39 期《良友》画报也介绍了她们的作品。1932年10月29日，青年会举办艺术展览，李旭英、汪黎化的美术图案作品也在其中。想来年轻时的李旭英在北平画坛还是很活跃的。
据彭飞先生总结的北平艺专师资情况一览表，李旭英1930年任图案系讲师，讲授课程逐年略有不同：1931年至32年“实用美术图案；”1934年，“天象、地文、文字图案；”1935至36年，图案与工艺分成两系，李旭英任工艺系讲师；1936-37年，工艺系取消，李旭英晋升图案系专任讲师。这时候图案系的教授有两位，一是后来四川美术学院的创始人李有行(1905-1982)、一是被誉为中国现代设计史奠基人的庞薰琹（1906-1985）。
1937年7月抗战爆发后, 国立北平艺专少部分师生在校长赵太侔(1889-1968)的带领下, 经江西庐山牯岭,九江, 武汉, 南迁湖南沅陵, 于1938年3月间,奉教育部令与林风眠率领的国立杭州艺专合并为国立艺专。另有一部分师生避难去了四川。李旭英和丈夫王元奇将三岁多的大女儿寄养在祖父母家，一度离京来到南京，后又借道武汉，本打算再去四川。有孕在身的李旭英于武汉产下二女儿，无力继续西进，只得回京。不久，王元奇因病也辗转回京，于1938年底离世。而留守在日伪沦陷区北平的原北平艺专师生也于1938年5月改组成立了国立北京艺术专科学校”，校长王石之。李旭英被聘回学校继续教书。由于是在日占区，这段校史, 被认为是一段蒙羞的历史，至今少有人研究，凡有提及，也会加个“伪”字。只知道那时候日本政府要求在各个学校加入日籍教师，图案系进驻了鹿岛英二（1874-1950），是日本近代史上比较重要的一位染织图案专家。据王石之先生的回忆，包括鹿岛在年内的几位日本先生都“同情中国人，学生也欢迎。”（刘曦林，“北平艺专史事二则”《北平艺专与民国美术》p48）
抗战胜利后北平艺专重建，1946年5月国民政府任命徐悲鸿为校长。按照母亲的回忆，当时对这些留守教员的去留颇有争议，聘书迟迟未至。李旭英在此期间拜访过徐悲鸿在东授禄街的住处，此后又请他参观自己的个人展览，得到好评，终于拿到了聘书。事实上，徐悲鸿1946年8月到京上任，与李旭英个展基本上是同一个时间，而他搬入东授禄街是1947年秋（廖静文《徐悲鸿传》p428）。如果李旭英真的拜访了徐悲鸿才拿到聘书，去的可能不是东授禄街的住处。在可询查的记录中，1946年中华全国美术会北平分会召开，李旭英以理事身份出席。1947年春北平艺专盛大的师生联展也还有李旭英的身影。徐悲鸿撰写的美展评议里提到“此次图案有徐振鹏、高立芳、李旭英三先生领导，出品当称丰富。”（《华北日报- 艺术》第十五期 1947年4月10日。）比较徐悲鸿对其他专业的评论，图案似乎不在他关注之内。1947年7月，一封署名“国立北平艺专学生自治会”向教育部告发徐悲鸿的密函中提到本学期徐将八位艺专老师解聘，其中有李旭英的名字。如果这个信息属实，那么李旭英与艺专的渊源在1947年中就终止了。