Botanical Pop Surrealism

My name is Paula Blanz and I am a Minnesota based artist. My color filled paintings reflect the energy, symmetry and stillness of curious organic creations. In this series of paintings I am the creator of the garden, its plants, their relationships to each other, and the atmosphere itself. Each painting in this botanical series expresses a fleeting moment in time that cannot be recaptured. I am painting in both a spirited style combined with technically rendered elements. The paint and color direct and inspire the seemingly floating primitive shapes.

In art school I was influenced by the works of Mark Rothko, Milton Avery and Georgia O’ Keefe. More recently in life I have been influenced by Pop Surrealism, and questioning what really qualifies as fine art. I work best when there are no rules. I love getting lost in the relationships I am creating. The energy in these paintings is both bold and subdued at different times, reflecting the spirit of nature itself. I think about time. I think about the power in a single seed.

I call this series Botanical Pop Surrealism because under this working title I feel free to do whatever I want without labeling myself. I am expressing a surreal organic experience, my love of nature, color, relationships, and the integrity of passing time. That with the beauty and intelligence of our planet.

From my earliest childhood memories I have always identified as being an artist. Creativity ran in my family; my mother made art and my father loved literature and music. I was quiet and shy as a child and art was my “go to” pastime. It has always been a natural fit.

After High School I attended the Minneapolis College of Art and Design where I earned my BFA in painting. Those years spent immersed in art and philosophy are among my finest memories. The emphasis in painting at that time was minimalist painting. I studied under visiting artists John Miller and James Hayward from California. I was also greatly influenced by the work of Mark Rothko and his color field paintings. I reflect on my early years of study when I incorporate an atmospheric quality and intentional brush work in my paintings.

My first job after graduating from MCAD was as a toy prototype painter in the model shop at Tonka Toys. I hand painted many small cars and numerous small toys for the sales force and photo shoots. As I grew into my role at Tonka Toys I began to render toy concepts for research and development. That launched my commercial art career that stretched over thirty years. Within that career I generated and illustrated original concepts for the toy industry, drew for inventors and submitted renderings to many companies including Tyco Toys, Kenner, the Paper Magic Group and many others. I did not use a computer at the time; the work was all hand rendered and I draw from this experience in all of the artwork I do now.

All the while, I thought about the time in my life that I would completely return to my Fine Art. That time for me is now. I am emerging from a gestation period and passionately creating my paintings. The act of painting makes me “whole” in a way that is hard to describe. It’s visible, physical, intuitive and emotional. I like being in the same space as my work. My Botannical series is a nod to Matisse in his later years, and a nod to Mother Nature herself.