Paula Blaschke
Paula Blaschke is the creative force behind Parallel Barking, a digital art platform known for its vibrant and whimsical illustrations. With her background in architecture, digital art seemed to be a natural progression in her creative process. Influenced by her deep appreciation of nature, Paula often incorporates elements like animals, flowers and patterns into her work. Her signature style features bold colors, crisp lines and layered elements, creating a unique blend of simplicity and complexity. Paula's art is not just about aesthetics; it reflects her personal journey and emotions, making each piece deeply personal and engaging. Through Parallel Barking, she invites viewers into a world where nature and imagination intertwine, offering a fresh perspective on the beauty of the natural world that surrounds all of us.
Paula, your visual universe, especially under the mantle of Parallel Barking, resonates with a kind of lyrical ecology where the natural world is neither static nor sentimental, but animated, idiosyncratic, and emotionally charged. Could you speak to how you conceptualize nature not merely as subject matter, but as a living system of symbols, metaphors, and personal mythologies within your work? How does this layered ecological lens inform the narrative tension between whimsy and complexity that so often characterizes your compositions?
My work is very emotional. It's all about capturing a very specific moment in time; visually, physically and emotionally. I want to record what I see and feel. Capturing my subject in concrete form, yet, drawing not verbatim. A collaborative effect of emotions and what I have witnessed. Like seeing a bright pink flower against a vivid blue sky in lush green grass makes me want to graphically record it and my happiness at that particular moment. Beauty and perfection at a precise time and how it makes me feel emotionally in a succinct moment. A dialogue between me and my subject. All those stimulating colors and textures can be powerful to one's psyche. This is part of the process that takes on a life of its own, becoming something completely unexpected rather than a photographic copy. I get a profound sense of joy and satisfaction out of this process.
You possess a rare fluency in two seemingly disparate visual languages: the rigor of architectural discipline and the elasticity of illustrative fantasy. How do you reconcile these modalities in your digital practice? Is there a theoretical or spacial logic, perhaps even a kind of choreographic structure, that you employ when designing your compositions, and how does that architecture evolve in dialogue with the organic forms that populate your work?
The precision is crucial, but control is the key. My work is very two dimensional. It is just an extension of drafting. Very structured and tight while compositionally organic. I use an ancient version of Adobe Illustrator 9 to draw everything with a mouse. I can really get lost for hours in drawing, refining, moving vector points and curves just to achieve a line that will be a small part in the overall image. This process is an extension of who I am. Straight forward and honest linework. I can't control what goes on in the world, but at my little desk, I rule with absolute certainty. Ha! It's an obsession really.
I do use Adobe Photoshop 6 in the final touch-up stages of my process. Mostly color correction and cropping to give it more depth and interest, but I never want it to look Photoshopped!
Your stated influences - Chuck Jones, Erte', Loet Vanderveen - span animation, Art Deco elegance, and sculptural abstraction. What is compelling is not simply that you reference these Artists, but how you metabolize their aesthetics into something utterly your own. Can you elaborate on how their conceptual and stylistic imprints have informed the ethos of your practice, and whether your homage is conscious, subversive, or something more ambient and psychological?
I can't underestimate how powerful my childhood has impacted my work visually and emotionally. Antiquing with my mother at an early age helped set the stage for my interest in design, and my love for outdoor gardens and nature drove my visual awareness to what I still draw upon today. And definitely a young avid TV viewer. I was always captivated by certain animations. From Hana-Barara to Hayao Miyazaki. But the Loony Toons from the early 1960's had its most profound impact. You can immediately tell who the art director and animator were for a specific episode. Even as a child, I would look at the backgrounds of these cartoons, recognizing how the implied linework had such a big impact to the overall structure of the visual outcome. I am such nerd!
As far as Loet Vanderveen goes, his tangible and smooth continuous linework comes across a simple but is actually a complex reduction of elements to create a recognizable form. I can only aspire to what he demonstrates with his work. Very humbling indeed.
But the Chinoiserie style has by far had the most significant and impact influence on my work. With its compositional framework, execution, and unusual subject motifs, which all have a timeless quality, I can only hope to achieve in my work.
As digital art continues its ascent into mainstream institutional visibility, there remains an enduring debate about its place within the canon of art. Given your inclusion in prominent exhibitions and digital competitions, how do you position your work within this evolving discourse? Do you see digital media as a democratizing tool, a medium of resistance, or a conceptual provocation in and of itself. And what challenges or liberations does the immateriality of the medium offer in contrast to traditional formats?
There is a big advantage with digital artwork. Its Flexibility. With scale, formatting and use of different print materials lends itself to being more adaptive. (I do love printing on fabrics and certain watercolor papers.)
I feel though it's still a common misconception that by using a computer it makes it easier to produce. It still takes thought, effort and skill to digitally create a work of art. Art should be valued and inclusive regardless of the medium you choose. Who's to argue that a banana taped a wall has more value than a beautiful digital art piece that took months to create.
I have been approached to sell my work as NFT, but I always decline. The lack of control over how it is being presented bothers me. Copyright infringement is another aspect to the equation. Plus, I love to see the ink from a Giclee print interact with a particular medium to get a singular and unique image. Tactile and Immediate. In that respect I am kind of old fashioned.
Many of your illustrations carry a kind of emotive resonance that suggests a deeper autobiographical or even therapeutic function. To what extent is your creative process introspective or cathartic? Is the act of creating these whimsical yet precise worlds a way of externalizing internal states, or do you see your practice as more of a dialogic space - one that allows the viewer to complete or co-author the emotional narrative you begin?
My work is definitely therapy. This is my refuge and sounding board. I must draw. It is a way to direct and ground my emotional wellbeing. Again, control comes into play. It is my world, voice, vision and execution. I can lose myself in whatever brings me peace. It forces me to focus and be in the moment. Definitely escapism. But you as the audience, are invited to join in and interpret it in any way you like. That is one aspect I have no control over, which is a good thing, I think.
There is a strong compositional rhythm in your work where line, pattern and negative space interact almost musically. Has your visual sensibility been influenced by disciplines outside the visual arts, such as music, dance, or literature? If so, how do these interdisciplinary echoes manifest in the tempo, pacing, or emotive structure of your digital pieces?
I cannot sing, dance, play a musical instrument and rarely read. So, that's a big negative. Ha!
Architecture and music each have a rhythm, beat and cadence, but I never follow those particular paradigms. I am a very straightforward person. So, I gravitate towards structure, massing and form with precise compositions. I go through several schematic layouts until I feel comfortable with the right visual balance which is fundamental with my work.
You depict animals and flora not as passive decorative motifs, but as the protagonists in their own enigmatic dramas, often charged with anthropomorphic expression or symbolic density. How do you navigate the representational ethics of nature in your work? Is your rendering of animals purely aesthetic, or are you engaged in a form of ecological storytelling or subtle activism through allegory and visual poetics?
I am not consciencely trying to bring awareness to the plight of animals. My Animals are completely spontaneous. Very much like looking at clouds. You see something different each time in the leftover lines and forms. I never set out to draw a specific animal. They just evolve naturally. Very loose and fluid structures that happen to be animals, with the least amount of information but still tell a story. I like to think of them as uncomplicated and nebulas.
Your use of textile-inspired patterning, crisp geometries, and layered symmetries suggest a deep engagement with design history and material culture. Are there particular textile traditions, decorative arts movements, or cultural aesthetics that you find yourself consistently returning to? And how do these visual traditions inform your approach to surface, ornamentation, and repetition in the digital realm?
The major influence that still guides my style is from the art deco era. The drafting, linework and colors are timeless. Plus, it's flat or rather two dimensional.
Erte' was a phenomenal draftsman and designer from that time period that I still gravitate to. If you overlook his market saturation and just look at his work, it's breathtaking. Precise drawings and vibrant color combinations are just spectacular. His compositions are perfect. Stark, but rich and fluid. He has given me confidence in my vignettes and in other compositional stages to just let the subject speak directly to you.
I have spoken before about Chinoiserie and my profound love and its encompassing influence on work. It can be both decorative and artfully complex. It has a deep historical and cultural background. French and Chinese fusion. Flat and dynamic. An opera on paper. The subject matter has always drawn my attention. Exotic to a young child, mastery to an older student. But still very relevant today in regard to historical content and present-day use. Its fundament lessons are still teaching us today about layout, composition and subject matter.
In an era where AI-generated art and algorithmic aesthetics are becoming increasingly indistinguishable from human authorship, what do you believe distinguishes the handmade digital gesture? How do you safeguard or assert artistic intentionality, emotional authenticity, and creative authorship in a landscape where automation can mimic style but not necessarily spirit?
I am very conflicted about the influence of AI on art as a whole. In one respect I know it is here to stay and can produce very mesmerizing images and objects. I don't know how much direction goes into each piece or are you giving AI the autonomy to create something that has been casually directed from pulled images from a library. As an artis, hopefully, some type of human interaction is guiding the AI. An intellectual effort of sorts. As an Artist I feel we will lose our creativity and authenticity of art if we are nothing more than composers of someone else work.
Even though I am a digital artist, a lot of energy goes into creating a single Image. Drafting and composing from scratch, to create my artistic expression and interpretation. I am curious to know if people really care if something has been hand-made or AI created. That is the sticky point for me. I have a huge amount of respect for all artists, because I know the effort and talent, plus the physical and emotional investment needed to create something that the world is going to judge. I just hope art doesn't get pushed into corner, where only a few will still appreciate it in all its form.
At this stage in your artistic evolution, with growing international presence and clearly articulated aesthetic voice, how has your definition of artistic success evolved? Is it measured through visibility, critical reception, emotional resonance, or something more intimate and internally calibrated? How do you reconcile ambition with authenticity, and do you see your practice as a continuous unfolding or a series of conceptual chapters?
Just by the act of exposing my artwork to the public is monumental in itself. For thirty plus years I have been an artist with an audience of one. Me. As I have matured, I have grown more comfortable in my own skin. So now, I am willing to share my view of the world with others. And so, I have stepped into the business world of art.
It is a business where you can indulge your perspective onto other and hope they like what you are saying. In trying to be more commercially successful, I have had to become more visually arresting. Try to catch the audience's eye, because competition is fierce. It has made me dig deep and expand my comfort zone. To really stretch creatively. Which is actually a good thing. Personal and artistic development are always a positive thing. But it does add a layer of stress to become financially viable. For that I am constantly looking at new ways to express my ideas and expand upon my execution. But at the end of the day, I must still be true to myself whether I am financially successful or not.