"Thick Skin" Painting

Miami-based Andrea Cardenal is a third generation Latin American artist. A multipotentialite with talents in music, art and writing, Andrea comes from a family of Opera singers, painters and authors. She was born in the USA from a Salvadoran mother and Nicaraguan father, but moved back to El Salvador as a child and grew up in the midst of civil war. Throughout her childhood and well into adulthood, music and art were her forms of expressing emotions too complex to express with words. She has been a nomad, living in 6 cities, 4 countries and 3 continents. She has traveled to over 40 countries throughout the years, which gives her a unique perspective of different cultures and inspires her art.

Andrea's painting journey began with drawing, then painting portraits mainly using paintbrush techniques. As her art has evolved, paintbrushes are rarely used, replaced by more abstract and fluid techniques involving pour, drip, blow, throw, palette knives and spatulas, sponges and other tools.

Spontaneity is at the center of her art, as she expresses personal emotions, contemporary societal issues and explores her thought processes through different techniques. Her process is instinctive and organic, she creates without judgement as ideas emerge from her subconscious and she lets her imagination fly while trying to find a harmony within the elements of her creations.