Say you’re an artist living in the Algarve. Whether you are a professional and know exactly what you are looking for, or simply an eager beginner who's just looking for some paper and colours to splash around with - it's tricky to find a shop that truly has everything that you might want.

I mean, let's face it, even you might not know. And that's part of the beauty of Ana Cardoso’s art shop Artisticline, located on a shady tree lined street in the heart of Portimão.

An Artists dream shop

Let me put it this way. If you imagine a paintbrush to be a bit like a magic wand (which shouldn’t be too difficult) and with the right wave or flick of the wrist you can create new worlds and bring spectacular things to life on canvas then Ana is most certainly the Professor McGonagall of the Algarvian art world.

You see, she is a very talented painter herself (her incredible credentials can be found hanging all around the shop) and so she has first hand knowledge about all her art supplies - as she uses a lot of them herself on a daily basis.

This means that she will be able to take one look at the paints, for example, that you are planning on buying and give you a heads up if they are NOT meant to be used together - and ‘spell disaster'.

Inspired by family

Indeed, when I arrived at the shop for our appointment (a little early) she was sitting at the counter putting the finishing touches on her latest painting of her granddaughter. I caught her at a critical point where she couldn’t stop and had to finish what she was doing before she could put her paintbrush down and talk to me.

I found out she used to be an art teacher in Portuguese schools all around the Algarve until she and her husband (a former maths teacher and military man) opened Artisticline 20 odd years ago. They have two grown up children and now two grandchildren who are Ana’s pride and joy (I could tell by how her face would light up when I asked about them - not to mention the amount of paintings I saw she had done of them).

Open Sesame

Ana told me her shop has been described by many as a ‘caverna do Alibaba’ (Alibaba’s cave) and I can understand why.

For starters, she has all kinds of oil colours, acrylics and pastels by quality art supply companies that are quite rare to find here in the Algarve. She was insistent on name dropping a few, such as Royal Talens from Holland, Sennelier from France and Schmincke from Germany. Not being a painter myself, they don’t mean much to me, but hopefully, if there are any artists out there reading - some of these elusive brand names have made ears your prick up.

Besides that, there’s almost too much stuff to name. Pens, paintbrushes, all kinds of papers and canvases. Ana reckons she has the most extensive collection of ribbons in the Algarve and a whole lot of beautiful recycled wrapping paper as well. An Alibaba's cave indeed. If you have a root around who knows what kinds of treasures you might uncover.

Down into the depths

Just as I thought I may have seen it all, I found out this ‘caverna’ went even deeper. Turns out there’s a basement as well. Here you can find a huge collection of Ana’s paintings of all kinds of diverse things from colourful waves and sailing ships to darker themes such as pictures of starving children.

It's really quite an extensive catalogue and this is because, while she waits for customers to turn up, Ana passes the time in the shop painting. Plus, she told me, she had a huge creative spree during lockdown.

Underground Art Classes

If you keep going even further you find her ‘underground classroom’. This is where Ana teaches art on Wednesdays and Thursdays and it was filled with her students' paintings either in progress or up on the walls drying.

So, if you were looking for the right paintbrush/magic wand - and lessons on how to use it to create something truly enchanting, then I suggest you visit her Facebook page Artisticline. Here you will be able to find directions to the shop so you can pop in one day and have a rummage around for yourself.