De Paolis's work spans painting, drawing, installation and filmed performance. Working in mixed media, she paints on a variety of surfaces: paper, canvas, cardboard, wood and clothing.

Traditional childhood games are reimagined in filmed performance, using volunteers as participants.

The work is in response to research into land ownership and land access in England, probing historical connections from the enclosure of common land to today, and questioning the popular idea of rural England as seen in the national collection of landscape art, period drama, marketing and political campaigning.