Andrew Cadima

About

Andrew Cadima is an American artist based in Northern California, renowned for his oil portraits and surrealistic works that blend hyperrealism with emotional distortion. Initially focused on music from age six, he studied piano, violin, and guitar, earning bachelor and master's degrees in composition from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music via the Agnes Albert Scholarship. After a professional career conducting and composing for ensembles worldwide, he abruptly transitioned to painting around 2017 with minimal prior experience, driven by a sudden creative urge. His early paintings were self-described as terrible, but he rapidly developed a distinctive style starting with caricature and portraiture of admired figures.

Hyperrealistic oil portraits with surreal distortions, monochromatic tones, and spectral lighting evoking emotion and speculative histories