https://www.saatchiart.com/en-gb/studio/art/12918179/overview
Title: “The Golden Murmur”
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
“The Golden Murmur” is an immersive dreamscape where color, light, and movement coalesce into a lyrical meditation on nature and spirit. Created using rich oil pastels, this piece is deeply inspired by Gustav Klimt’s decorative rhythms and symbolic intensity, reimagined through a more instinctive, contemporary lens.
Amber-gold tree trunks rise against a twilight blue veil, as if suspended in a state between memory and myth. Petals of vermilion, coral, lilac, and ultramarine scatter through the composition like fragments of song or spells mid-air. These flourishes are not merely flora—they are emotions, lingering touches, whispers of forgotten things.
Textures shift from soft to vivid, blending misty gradients with eruptive, tactile strokes that catch the eye and invite the hand. The foreground pulses with warmth and intrigue—crimson blossoms, saffron flecks, and indigo shadows suggest the presence of an unseen force, gentle but awake. Overhead, small white dots descend like snow, or stardust, or seeds of consciousness.
The forest in “The Golden Murmur” is not a physical place but a liminal one. It exists just outside time. There are no figures, no path—only sensation, presence, and an invitation to feel deeply. The painting murmurs to those who linger.
Philosophical Narrative
In Klimt’s work, gold was a channel—a medium not just of wealth but of transcendence. Inspired by this idea, “The Golden Murmur” seeks to offer that same kind of transcendental shimmer through natural forms. Not literal gold, but symbolic gold: the golden hour of healing, of breath returned, of a moment suspended between thought and emotion.
The trees here are guardians, but also listeners. They do not speak loudly. Their language is one of gentle motion and sacred pause. They remember what we forget: the silence beneath noise, the poetry inside decay, the dignity of wild things.
This painting is not just a celebration of color and texture, though it brims with both—it is an invocation. It recalls the quiet magic found in childhood woods, in stories passed down, in dreams where you ran through fields that never ended. It’s a return to the pulse of the earth and to your own inner rhythm, long buried beneath screens and days.
“The Golden Murmur” is not intended to be understood in a single glance. It is meant to be lived with, returned to, discovered anew with each viewing. The more you look, the more it gives: a shift in mood, a hidden bloom, a fresh breath.
Symbolism & Intent
- Trees: Elongated and semi-transparent, they suggest both strength and impermanence. Their forms echo Klimt’s structural elegance, but with a freer, looser hand. They are scaffolds of memory.
- Blossoms & Leaves: Dabs of color become metaphors—pink for love remembered, orange for creative fire, blue for longing or depth. They don’t follow botanical logic; they are emotional ecosystems.
- White Dots: These recurring marks act as a veil, a snowfall, or a spiritual code—something descending from above, unspoken but felt.
- Color Palette: Deep indigo and ultramarine meet earthy ochres and celebratory reds. This tension between cool calm and ecstatic heat defines the piece’s emotive range.
Style & Technique
Working in oil pastels, the artist embraces both precision and unpredictability. The medium allows for bold color and rich texture, while the layering process invites chance and discovery. Klimt’s influence appears not through direct emulation, but through the emphasis on pattern, mood, and symbolic storytelling.
Areas of thicker impasto contrast with softer blended sections, creating a tactile topography that shifts under changing light. The matte archival varnish protects the surface while preserving its softness and depth.
There is no single point of focus; instead, the eye is guided in spirals, drawn into a quiet choreography of hue and texture.
Emotional Experience
Viewers have described the experience of standing before this work as meditative, uplifting, even slightly surreal. Some have said it feels like stepping into a forest just before waking from a vivid dream. Others feel it resonates with a kind of seasonal nostalgia—like spring remembering autumn, or childhood remembering a future it once imagined.
It does not prescribe a single feeling. Instead, it opens a space for each viewer to place their own quiet longing, their own half-remembered joy.
Collector’s Notes
- Framed in a simple, complementary frame that enhances the luminosity of the work without overpowering its delicacy.
- Signed discreetly on the front; full signature and date on the reverse.
- Ready to hang and enjoy; shipped with protective packaging.
- A unique piece—there are no prints or reproductions.
Final Thought
In a world that moves fast, “The Golden Murmur” invites stillness. In a world of sharp edges, it offers softness. It asks you not to look harder, but to feel more. It does not shout, it sings quietly. It does not explain—it simply is.
Let it whisper to you.
Laura Bernardeschi Nelson artworld and travels 