Ariadne finds tranquillity in the careful consideration of ‘found objects’ with which she has an emotional resonance. Her paintings are a meditation investing the content of the work with other worldliness and timelessness. She describes the style of her more recent work with oils as "...more careful and precise. The paintings tend towards realism..."

Ariadne Petousis attended a Rudolf Steiner school where painting and craft were integral to the curriculum. In her early years, she admired the Expressionists and was greatly encouraged by her art teacher, Leo Nitzsche. She became preoccupied with drawings of human figures and further developed these in Art School.

Ariadne qualified with a BA Fine Art at Michaelis School of Fine Art, Uct in 1980, majoring in painting under Stanley Pinker, Marthinus Legransie and Peggy Delport. She later attended classes in oil painting run by Michael Pettit over a period of 5 years.

Petousis taught as a Kindergarten teacher at the Constantia Waldorf School, painting cards and illustrating The Beating Drum, a journal for early childhood education, over many years.