La Vie en Gold: palette knife, fire and a journey to the heart of matter
Every Saturday, I share one of the paintings that live with me in my studio in Ericeira. This week: La Vie en Gold, a very large canvas, 180 cm high, worked from edge to edge in shades of gold, bronze and deep brown.
And yes, of course, the title is a little wink to La Vie en rose.
A winter's day
I painted it at the beginning of 2026, on a winter's day. It's never really cold here in Ericeira, but at the end of the afternoon you could still feel winter in the air.
A technique born from my experiments
I love experimenting. You know me by now: I like to learn by experimenting, discovering things for myself rather than following a ready-made method. I find it more fun, more exciting! Sometimes I get it wrong, sometimes it takes me much longer than someone who learnt the academic way. But sometimes I get results I never expected, and this technique is one of them.
I think the first painting I created with this technique was Sunday on the Planet Mars, then came Earth, then my Gold canvases. With La Vie en Gold, I tried it for the first time in XXL size!
Palette knife… and fire
It all starts with the palette knife and a lot of material. Then comes a more unexpected step: I heat the surface of the material with a very intense heat source. This is what makes the material react and brings out the reliefs, the little craters and the cracks you discover up close.
A step that calls for a lot of care and vigilance!
The day it almost burned
With La Vie en Gold, the experiment very nearly went wrong: the canvas came close to catching fire! I had quite a fright. But it held on, and here it is today, with its fire scars.
A journey to the centre of the Earth
When I look at it, I feel like I'm travelling into the heart of the material, almost to the centre of the Earth. A mysterious journey.
From a distance, you see a warm golden light, crossed by darker areas. Up close, the surface reveals its reliefs, its cracks and its scratches, which catch the light and give the canvas all its depth.
The gold changes all day long: brighter in the morning sun, softer and deeper in the evening.
About the painting
La Vie en Gold
Acrylic, materials and texture effects on canvas, worked with palette knife and heat, 3D wooden stretcher
180 × 154 cm (height × width)
Original artwork, one of a kind, signed, varnished, with a certificate of authenticity
Gold in the Dark collection
It brings warmth and a quiet elegance to a large wall: a living room, a dining room or an entrance.
And you?
Have you ever started something without knowing where it would lead, and been surprised by the result? Tell me on WhatsApp, I read every message.
Come and see it on Saturday 5 December
Gold is very hard to photograph: it changes with the light and with the angle you look at it from. To really discover La Vie en Gold, the best is to stand in front of it.
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