Location: United Kingdom
Laura Bernardeschi Nelson is an Italian-born, UK-based multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans painting, mixed media, and writing. Since 2018, her work has been exhibited across the UK and internationally, engaging themes of identity, resilience, and climate awareness. Working primarily in acrylics, oil pastels, and layered textures, her art bridges personal transformation with collective concerns. In addition to her visual work, Laura has published Paper and Fire: An Artist’s Journey Through Change and Mixed Media and Climate Awareness: Laura’s Impactful Art, expanding her practice into literature. She continues to explore how creativity can be a force for both healing and advocacy. Born in Italy and now based in the UK, Laura Bernardeschi Nelson is a contemporary artist working across painting, mixed media, and written word. Her career is defined by exploration and reinvention: from early work in photography and modeling to her transition into fine art, Laura’s journey has been guided by a deep commitment to expression and storytelling. Since 2018, Laura has exhibited in solo and group shows across the UK and internationally, with her works appearing in galleries, curated art fairs, and online auctions. Her paintings combine acrylics, oil pastels, collage, and found textures, creating layered narratives that address both the intimate and the universal. Recurring themes include self-portraiture as a site of transformation, the fragility and strength of the human condition, and the urgent call for environmental consciousness. Laura’s practice is not limited to the visual: she is also an author. Her memoir Paper and Fire: An Artist’s Journey Through Change weaves personal history with creative growth, while Mixed Media and Climate Awareness: Laura’s Impactful Art articulates her environmental engagement through painting. Recognized on platforms such as Saatchi Art, MutualArt, and in publications like ArtistCloseUp, Laura continues to expand her reach to collectors, institutions, and wider audiences. Her art stands at the intersection of vulnerability and activism, seeking to leave a trace of hope, healing, and resilience. Artist Statement My work begins where words fall short: in the textures of paint, the layering of mixed media, and the visceral immediacy of color. I create as both witness and participant in a world marked by fragility and resilience. Self-portraiture has been a recurring lens through which I explore transformation. By revisiting my own image, I reveal not vanity but vulnerability — the shifting self as metaphor for collective change. Alongside this, I weave in landscapes and abstract forms that echo the broader concerns of climate and environment. Working in acrylics, oil pastels, and experimental textures, I am drawn to the tension between softness and urgency, stillness and disruption. In this, painting becomes a space where healing and activism meet. I believe art can hold contradictions — it can be both deeply personal and politically charged, tender yet insistent. My aim is to create work that resonates beyond the canvas, inviting viewers to reflect on their own transformations and responsibilities in a world that demands care, empathy, and awareness.
In March of this year, during a period of deep personal crisis and recovery from a mental health breakdown, I found myself unable to return to the vibrant, Pop Art-inspired women with red hair who had long inhabited my canvases. Their bold energy no longer reflected the silence I was seeking within.
Instead, I turned inward — and outward — toward the natural world, toward meditation, and toward quiet spiritual figures that seemed to emerge from the landscapes of my imagination. Working with oil pastels, I allowed softness, spontaneity, and simplicity to guide me.
“Sacred Light in Pastel” is the result of that turning point. These works are not only about the divine in nature, but about the journey back to peace — about listening to the stillness, finding beauty in slowness, and reconnecting with the soul.
Each piece is an invitation to pause, breathe, and feel the sacred light that lives both within and around us.
Tempest at Dusk
Artist: Laura Bernardeschi Nelson
Medium: Oil Pastels on Paper
Finish: Varnished for protection and subtle sheen
Size: 40x30 cm (framed)
Signed: Yes
Framing: Included and ready to hang
Original Artwork: One of a kind
In Tempest at Dusk, the ocean churns under a restless sky, its surface shifting with deep blues and foaming whites. The horizon glows with a sudden blaze of gold, a fleeting moment of light breaking through storm-laden clouds. The scene holds both turbulence and transcendence, where nature’s power and beauty collide.
Created with oil pastels and layered in sweeping, textured strokes, this piece captures the immediacy of the storm—the energy of wind and water, the drama of sky and sea. The varnished finish lends a subtle sheen, enhancing the depth of color and movement within the work.
This original artwork by Laura Bernardeschi Nelson speaks to those who are drawn to the sea’s untamed spirit and the ever-changing moods of the natural world. It is both a window into the storm and a meditation on resilience, light, and transformation.
“Echoes of the Earth by Laura Bernardeschi Nelson”
This compelling artwork by Laura Bernardeschi Nelson, rendered in oil pastels on paper, is a profound and visually rich exploration of the symbiotic relationship between humanity and the natural world. Measuring 30x40 cm and presented in a clean white frame, the piece is a vibrant and tactile conversation that embodies the artist's deep spiritual connection to the earth.
Bernardeschi Nelson's choice of oil pastels is central to the artwork's expressive power. The medium allows for a direct, intuitive application of color, creating a dynamic surface with a rich, painterly texture. She builds up layers of pastel to give the foliage and the roots a sense of organic volume, while also using techniques like sgraffito—etching into the pastel to reveal underlying colors—to create delicate, life-like details in the branches and roots. The palette is dominated by lush greens and earthy browns, grounded by the deep, gnarled roots at the base of the composition. This groundedness provides a sense of stability and ancient wisdom, while the vibrant greens and blues of the foliage represent life, growth, and renewal.
The central figure is a serene, feminine presence deeply intertwined with the tree. The figure's body seamlessly becomes the tree's trunk, her hair and arms the branches, and her feet the roots. This is not simply a representation of a figure in nature, but a powerful visual metaphor for a complete and total union. The figure's face, a striking focal point, exhibits a classic profile with idealized features—a straight nose, a gentle mouth, and a tranquil, closed-eyed expression. This classical elegance, reminiscent of ancient Greek or Roman art, is a deliberate choice. It situates the figure outside of a specific time or place, suggesting that this sacred connection between the feminine and nature is an ancient, enduring truth that echoes through history. The figure is a timeless archetype of Mother Nature, a quiet but powerful force.
The title, Echoes of the Earth, serves as a key to the artwork's philosophical core. It suggests that the earth communicates with us in a language that is not always verbal but is felt and heard on a deeper, spiritual level. The figure, in her state of serene communion, is listening to and embodying these echoes. The artwork is a reflection of Bernardeschi Nelson's personal journey, where she uses her art to connect with and heal through the natural world. It is a work that speaks to the idea that our own well-being is intrinsically tied to the health of our planet. By portraying the figure as one with the tree, the artist challenges the viewer to reconsider their own relationship with nature, to see it not as a separate entity to be exploited, but as an extension of ourselves.
This piece is a gentle but firm call to introspection and reverence. It asks us to look for the "echoes" in our own lives, to find our roots, and to recognize the sacredness of the natural world. It is a reminder that in finding our connection to the earth, we can find a profound sense of peace and belonging. The artwork is a beautiful testament to the artist's belief in the healing power of nature and the enduring strength of the feminine spirit.
“Whispers Beneath the Golden Sky by Laura Bernardeschi Nelson”
Title: "Whispers Beneath the Golden Sky"
Medium: Oil Pastel on Paper
Dimensions (approx.):
Artwork: 36 x 38 cm
Framed: 46 x 36 cm
Framed: Yes — sold framed as pictured
Year: 2025
Style: Contemporary Landscape / Measured Impressionism
Surface: Acid-Free Heavyweight Paper
Technical Description
Whispers Beneath the Golden Sky is a richly layered oil pastel work created with deliberate technical control and an emotional, symbol-driven palette. The composition invites viewers into a dreamlike, meandering forest path under a star-spangled night sky. A golden-yellow trail curves with rhythm and intention through wild grasses and trees, vanishing into an ethereal horizon of glowing orbs and swirling midnight tones.
Medium: The artist uses only premium-quality oil pastels, applied directly to heavyweight acid-free paper. The surface holds each layer with clarity and intensity, preserving the vibrancy of each pigment. No underdrawing or digital manipulation was employed—every stroke is physical, intentional, and tactile.
Technique & Texture: Various mark-making tools were used—from sharpened pastel edges for linear structure to flat, rounded pressure for diffuse areas. The layering process involves alternating translucent and opaque applications, built over time to create a lush, painterly surface with visible directionality. No smudging was used; instead, pressure and overlaying were used to maintain chromatic purity.
Color & Composition: The pathway’s golden hue—echoing Klimt’s luminous aesthetic—functions as both a literal trail and a metaphorical thread, guiding the viewer into the artwork. Contrasting deep ultramarine blues and starlit yellows in the sky pay homage to the emotive nightscapes of early modernism, while still rooted in a contemporary context. Each circular star form and tree arc subtly echoes the Golden Ratio, fostering a natural, intuitive balance.
Planning & Perspective: The composition was pre-mapped in thumbnail studies to ensure harmonic proportion and control over flow. Foreground elements such as wildflowers and tree trunks use warmer tones and clearer edges, while cooler, desaturated hues draw the eye into the recessive space of the night forest. The path curves with natural asymmetry, creating a visual tempo—slow, quiet, inward.
Philosophical & Artistic Intent
Inspired by Gustav Klimt’s golden period and his use of ornament as symbol, Whispers Beneath the Golden Sky aims to evoke a space between waking and dreaming. It is not a landscape seen, but a landscape remembered or longed for—a silent forest where one walks not to arrive but to be enveloped.
The glowing forms in the sky suggest celestial bodies, memories, or even guiding spirits. They are not fixed to any one interpretation, but designed to offer the viewer a gentle sense of connection—perhaps to the universe, or to their own internal quietude.
The golden path is central both visually and metaphorically. It stands as a symbol of continuity, warmth, and introspection. In a world of distraction and speed, this piece offers a contemplative moment—a still corridor lit by inner light. It is an invitation to wander and listen.
Collector’s Note
Whispers Beneath the Golden Sky comes framed as pictured and is ready to hang. It is a unique, one-of-a-kind piece—no prints or reproductions exist. The artist’s signature is visible on the front, and the work will include a signed certificate of authenticity.
This work will appeal to collectors who are drawn to emotionally resonant landscapes, the tactility of pastel, and the evocative blending of classical and contemporary influences. Ideal for intimate interior spaces where art is meant to be not just seen, but felt.
“Tempest at Dusk”
