5 Minutes with Ana Cardoso

Postcards from Portugal

In this edition of Five Minutes With, we speak to Ana Cardoso, a Portuguese painter based in Leça da Palmeira. Known for her evocative, sunlit scenes of women in bikinis poolside, she shares the inspirations behind her work and the places that continue to spark her creativity.

Imagery via Ana Cardoso @ana_cardoso_atelier

Can you tell us a bit about yourself, where are you based? Where are you from?

I was born in Porto, Portugal, and I now live and work in Leça da Palmeira — a small seaside town just north of Porto, known for its beaches, slow living, surfing, and striking architecture.

How long have you been painting?

The first time I painted on canvas was when I was 11 years old. I really enjoyed it, and after that I kept coming back to painting and later it became part of my life.

Can you walk us through your painting process - do you start with a photo, a memory, or something else entirely?

There are many sources of inspiration when I begin a painting. I'm an avid collector of images and can spend hours searching for the one that convinces me it's the right starting point for the narrative I want to create. This happens in the studio, but also frequently while I travel - both inside and outside museums. In the end, I think it all comes together. It's like tuning different 'instruments' that will set off the painting. Once that's in place, the rest - the act of painting itself - begins to unfold.

The style and subject matter of your work - especially your depictions of women in swimming pools - feels deeply nostalgic, like scenes from a '60s film. What draws you to this imagery, and is there a memory or era you're trying to revisit?

We all carry an imaginary world within us - images, music, and books that draw us in, that once shaped an experience, or that invite us to dream and feel. Through my paintings, I try to give shape to that world - to its sounds, its words, and even its scents.

If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?

Bahia, Brazil - a place I've only visited once, yet it left a lasting mark. It is joy in its purest form, where music, colours, and people are inseparable.