https://www.saatchiart.com/en-gb/studio/art/12913471/overview
A new podcast on Spotify https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/laurabernardeschinelson/episodes/Discover-Lirael-A-Journey-Through-Forest-Art-by-Laura-Bernardeschi-Nelson-e35dunh
Title: Whispers of Lirael
Dimensions (approx.):
Artwork: 36 x 38 cm
Framed: 46 x 36 cm
Framed: Yes — sold framed as pictured
Medium: Oil pastels on acid-free heavyweight paper
Finish: Signed and varnished (matte archival varnish for protection)
Description
Whispers of Lirael is a luminous journey into an enchanted forest, where color and spirit dance together in harmony. Created in rich oil pastels, the painting evokes a timeless, otherworldly path winding upward through a hidden glade. The steps—soft, stone-like, and tinged with lavender and sapphire—invite the viewer into a place where magic breathes beneath each leaf.
Vibrant textures bloom across the canvas: cobalt flowers, flame-orange petals, and ethereal blue mists punctuate the verdant undergrowth, forming a chorus of nature’s forgotten voices. Light filters through the trees with a gentle, celestial glow, as if the forest itself is exhaling peace.
This piece balances structure and spontaneity, with brushstrokes that feel guided by intuition as much as by hand. It is a vision not just of a forest—but of a spirit space, a place of memory, rebirth, and invitation.
Philosophical Narrative
Lirael, in the old stories, is the name of a guardian spirit who protects the sacred places no longer marked on maps. This artwork is her whisper—a memory of paths we once walked in childhood dreams or ancient lifetimes. Here, the forest is alive with presence: it does not threaten or conceal, but calls us home.
The steps represent transformation, the path of trust and slow awakening. There is no figure in the image because you, the viewer, are the one being summoned. The invitation is clear: walk upward. Reconnect with wonder. Remember what you once knew.
Whispers of Lirael is not just a landscape—it’s a gentle portal. One that stirs the senses and softens the heart.
Laura Bernardeschi Nelson artworld and travels 