Where Fire Sleeps: The Bay of Vesuvius, 2020

Natalie Borisenko   Best sellers

This work predates my current series, but shows the emotional seed of what later became.This piece is a meditation on resilience — on how we live, create, and love with full awareness of the forces beyond our control. Though it belongs to a different direction in my practice, it remains rooted in the same emotional landscape as my larger collection Between Light and Silence.

It is one of my core oil paintings — a rare but essential departure from my primary acrylic, cloisonné-style works. Oil was chosen for its softness and depth, allowing me to build atmosphere and texture, and to convey a quiet tension beneath the stillness.

As an artist, I sought to portray the sea not as a place of escape, but as a mirror to something long dormant within — a fire beneath the waves, ancient and waiting. The Bay of Vesuvius holds this energy: silent, powerful, and ever watchful.

While not part of my main series, this work carries the same essential themes — solitude, transformation, and the delicate balance between introspection and openness. It reflects an inner fire that doesn't flare up, but simmers, shaping the unseen landscape of the soul. Painted after my journey to Naples — a personal memory turned into color and light.