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The Evening Does Not Cool
Artwork Description / Explanation
The Evening Does Not Cool is an oil pastel work on paper that explores a landscape suspended in a state of prolonged heat and atmospheric tension. The palm trees, rendered as dark, restless silhouettes, lean and stretch across the surface, suggesting movement shaped by wind, temperature, and time rather than by a fixed sense of place. The scene feels familiar yet unsettled, evoking a landscape that resists rest or relief.
The sky dominates the composition, shifting through saturated tones of pink, violet, and burning orange. These colours suggest a sunset, but one that offers no sense of cooling or closure. Instead of signalling calm, the fading light intensifies the atmosphere, reinforcing the idea of heat lingering beyond its expected limits. The contrast between the luminous horizon and the darkened foreground creates a quiet but persistent tension.
Oil pastels allow for direct, physical engagement with colour. Layered strokes remain visible, giving the surface a tactile quality that mirrors the instability of the scene itself. The marks are expressive but controlled, allowing colour to carry emotional weight while maintaining a sense of structure.
Rather than depicting a specific location, the work functions as a symbolic landscape. It reflects on environments shaped by changing climates and altered rhythms, where familiar transitions—such as the cooling of evening—can no longer be taken for granted. The image suggests both beauty and unease, inviting the viewer to sit with the sensation of a world in which natural cycles feel increasingly uncertain.
Details
Laura Bernardeschi Nelson
Year 2026
Oil pastels on paper
45 × 35 cm (framed)
Signed and varnished
Laura Bernardeschi Nelson artworld and travels 