"Riddles" Painting

There are things beneath the surface: unspoken, unseen, yet deeply felt.
I’m drawn to this, to the unknown.

My love for nature, animals, and fantastical realms has led me to create a parallel world, one that feels familiar yet distant.
My characters inhabit historical interiors and gardens.
Much like us, they yearn for love, security, and a place to belong. They wander through, seeking answers, only to find even more questions.
The world I create is anti-utopian. It appears tranquil and in harmony, but there’s a sense of something unsettling just beneath the surface.

Over many years, I’ve searched for locations and interiors that I’ve brought into my work.
I work in both traditional and digital mediums, each offering unique ways to express my vision.
Through photo collage and illustration, I combine elements from photography with animals and hybrid creatures, often transformed from my own self-portraits.
The digital medium fascinates me and opens up endless possibilities, but I also find immense joy in traditional methods, particularly painting with oils.
There’s an irreplaceable feeling that comes from the brush on canvas and the experience of working with paint.
I’m grateful to be able to embrace the best of both worlds.

The world I create often tells stories within stories, sometimes through allegory, and with a touch of irony and even humor.
Animals and characters represent deeper ideas, symbolizing how wildlife replaces the societies we have constructed throughout history and into an uncertain future.

My art is still a mystery to me. I embrace it, and it speaks back. It is a journey, and I'm uncertain of its destination.
Perhaps it offers some answers, or perhaps it simply gives a moment of solace in its beauty.


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In the world of Croatian artist Nikolina Petolas, animals, hybrid creatures, and human figures move through spaces that feel like a journey through time.
Drawing inspiration from nature, historical grandeur, and a futuristic lens, she transforms overgrown interiors and surreal gardens into places of wonder and nostalgia.
Her outcast characters, adrift in their own worlds, reflect our search for meaning in an age of isolation.
With influences from classical traditions and surrealism, Nikolina uses both traditional oil painting and digital techniques to create allegorical narratives about nature, society, and our uncertain future.