Horizon: a red sky, a deep blue sea and one thin line
Starting today, every Saturday, I'm going to share one of the paintings that live with me in my studio in Ericeira. I'm starting with a big one: Horizon, 180 cm high.
At the top, a red sky made of small blocks of colour. At the bottom, a deep blue sea, almost night. And between the two, a thin orange line.
A canvas that took its time
I painted Horizon at the beginning of 2026. I couldn't tell you exactly how long it took me. What I know is that we spent many, many hours together, this canvas and I.
I never start with an image in mind, never. All my paintings grow one stroke of the palette knife after another, and I never know where I'm going. Horizon was no exception.
Blues first, then reds
Everything is painted with the palette knife. I started with the blues: a deep sea with flashes of turquoise here and there. Then came the reds, in small blocks that get darker towards the top, like the sky at the end of a very hot day.
Why red and midnight blue? For the strong contrast. Face to face, these two colours really talk to each other.
The line that came at the very end
For a long time, something bothered me: I didn't like the way the sky and the sea joined. So, right at the end, I decided to make a clean, sharp cut. A thin, perfectly straight orange line.
It gives the painting a different touch, because there are no knife marks in it at all. It's just a fine border, like a real frontier between two worlds: the ocean and the sky. That straight line cutting through everything is also where the title comes from.
Not an easy one
I'll be honest with you: this canvas was hard to bring into the world. I don't really know why. It took me a long time to be happy with it. But today, I adore it.
About the painting
Horizon
Acrylic on canvas, palette knife, 3D wooden stretcher
180 × 155 cm (height × width)
Original artwork, one of a kind, signed, varnished, with a certificate of authenticity
Atlantic Blues collection
It needs a big wall: a living room, an entrance hall, a staircase. Once it's there, it changes the whole room.
And you?
When you look at Horizon, do you see the sea and the sky, or something else entirely? Tell me on WhatsApp, I read every message.
Come and see it on Saturday 5 December
A photo will never show you the texture of the knife or the depth of the blues. If you'd like to see Horizon for real, I'm opening my home-studio-gallery in Ericeira on Saturday 5 December for my Open House. It's by invitation: sign up and I'll send you all the details.
See you soon,
Lenon B
Contemporary painter, Ericeira, Portugal