Original artwork description:

Black Gold No. 10 is a dialogue between radiance and gravity, a luminous expanse of textured gold suspended above a downward flow of dark, earthen lines. Painted in oil and acrylic on natural cork, carefully wrapped around a wooden frame and gallery-stretched like a canvas, the surface captures both shimmer and shadow, echoing cycles of light, erosion, and time. Part of my Cork Series, this work is rooted in my Portuguese origins, a return to nature, rawness, and simplicity. Cork is 100% natural, reusable, and recyclable. It is harvested without cutting trees; cork oaks regenerate after each harvest, sustaining biodiversity and rural livelihoods. To paint on cork is to collaborate with the land. The surface is not merely material — it is a quiet voice of sustainability. Black Gold No. 10 embodies a tension between brilliance and descent, permanence and change — a meditation on beauty, rooted in earth yet reaching for light.

Materials used:

Oil and acrylic on cork leather stretched on a wood frame, gallery wrapped

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