by Laura Bernardeschi Nelson

Artwork Description

Welcome

25.0 x 35.0 cm

Welcome Artist: Laura Bernardeschi Nelson Medium: Oil Pastels on Paper Dimensions: Approximately 25 x 35 cm (framed) Year: 2025 Framing: Sold Framed Finish: Varnished Signature: Signed on front and back Description: "Welcome" by Laura Bernardeschi Nelson is a striking and psychologically charged work that flips the idea of hospitality into something ominous. A strange, looming figure with exaggerated, hollow eyes appears at the threshold — part mask, part specter — offering not comfort, but confrontation. Below, the word "WELCOME" is scrawled in urgent red, a false invitation that leaves the viewer unsettled. Set within an eerie, shadow-stained interior, the use of oil pastels creates a raw, textural tension, while the palette of bruised purples, smudged blacks, and ghostly reds channels the spirit of Halloween and themes of the uncanny. This is a scene where the domestic turns dark, and perception blurs between protection and peril. A haunting portrayal of emotional dissonance, Welcome explores the contradiction of familiar spaces becoming threatening — a concept that resonates deeply with modern anxieties around safety, identity, and the masks we wear. Why This Work Stands Out: A bold reinterpretation of the traditional welcome — deeply unsettling and conceptually rich Evokes Halloween's duality of trick and treat, surface and shadow Taps into themes of domestic dread, psychological horror, and the surreal Created by a female artist using expressive oil pastel techniques with evocative impact Framed, varnished, and ready to display — signed both front and back for authenticity

Artwork Details

Medium: Painting Pastel

Genre: Surrealism