https://www.saatchiart.com/en-gb/studio/art/12716985/overview
In this striking acrylic on hardboard, Laura Bernardeschi Nelson captures a fleeting, windswept moment along a coastal stretch—likely inspired by the raw beauty of Northumberland’s shores. With deft, expressive brushwork and a keen eye for the mood of a place, she offers more than a landscape; she offers a meditation on impermanence, memory, and the ceaseless dialogue between nature and the human spirit.
The painting leans into a semi-abstract, impressionistic style. The surface of the hardboard provides a subtle texture that interacts beautifully with the dry brush technique and layering of semi-opaque washes. The sky glows with unexpected hues—peach, gold, and turquoise—suggesting either dawn or dusk, a liminal moment caught between states of being. These warm tones are offset by the cool, restless blues of the sea and the earthy, wind-brushed greens of coastal grasses.
The foreground is anchored by the fence—worn, irregular, and bent under the force of the wind. It is rendered with quick, confident lines, leaning toward abstraction. It feels at once like a boundary and an invitation: a man-made structure succumbing to the rhythms of nature, unable to resist the sea’s slow reclamation.
The grasses and foliage are not still life—they are alive with motion. Their angular forms and rapid strokes suggest the gusts that whip across the dunes, pulling at the world, reminding us that nothing remains static. Here, the wind is not just an element—it is a character, a force of truth that strips away artifice and exposes what endures: the land, the sea, and the wild breath between them.
The painting becomes a reflection on vulnerability and resilience. The viewer stands in the place of witness, gazing into a world shaped by invisible currents. The wind, like time, is unseen but deeply felt. It bends the grasses, leans the fence, and stirs the sea—and in doing so, reveals the beauty of surrender and the poetry of transience.
Laura Bernardeschi Nelson’s signature on this piece affirms a personal connection to the scene, perhaps a moment felt during a coastal walk, where the wind spoke louder than thought. It’s a painting that doesn’t just depict a place—it becomes the place. And through it, we are reminded to listen, to feel, and to let ourselves be moved.
Laura Bernardeschi Nelson artworld and travels 