Luculia Gratissma

Mixed Media, 2020
22 x 28″

 I photographed this garden while taking a neighborhood walk through Beverly Hills, California. With so much of daily life narrowed to the spaces immediately around me, walking became a way to observe the city more closely. I remember being struck by the private gardens that appeared along the street—lush, carefully tended, and often partially hidden behind high walls, iron gates, or hedges. These glimpses felt intimate and almost theatrical, as if small fragments of private worlds had been placed on display for anyone passing by, while still remaining just out of reach.

In this image, I wanted to capture the allure of that partial access: the feeling of looking into a garden that is visible but not fully available. The flowers and leaves are pushed into deep purples, blues, pinks, and dark shadows, transforming the scene into something more dreamlike than documentary. The dense foliage suggests privacy and enclosure, while the bright blossoms create moments of invitation and discovery. Through the painting, I hoped to preserve the strange beauty of the pandemic walks, when ordinary neighborhood details became charged with longing, curiosity, and a renewed attention to the quiet spaces between public and private life.