A Place Once Known (2025)Oil painting by Nikolina Petolas

“I used to come here,” she whispered.
“Or maybe I only dreamed I did.”

The fence seemed further than it once was.
Flamingos watched silently, keepers of what time lets pass.
“Did you want to stay?”
“More than I could say.”

The garden felt distant,
like a place she once knew,
or only hoped to.

✦ Blue Pear Saga ~ Chronicle 43 ✦


This painting is part of an ongoing series I began in 2013, exploring themes of wonder and belonging, transformation, and mystery. It portrays a woman gazing into a surreal garden of memory. The flamingos are a recurring motif in my work, symbolizing resilience and our intimate yet fragile connection to the natural world. I often give them human-like qualities, so they stand as companions within these dreamlike spaces. The garden itself is a symbol of our distant self, a fragment of something we once knew, a memory of innocence and imagination.

This work is shipped in a custom crate for secure transport.

Materials used:

Oils

Details:

• Oil painting on Canvas
• One of a kind artwork
• Size: 40 x 50 x 2cm (unframed)
• Signed on the front
• Style: Surrealistic
• Subject: People and portraits

Tags: