CANNABIS CULTURE – Tracy Pshyk is a self-taught artist from Kelowna, BC, whose photorealistic paintings are capturing attention by highlighting the beauty of cannabis flower.
“I’ve been an artist my whole life,” Pshyk told Cannabis Culture in a recent interview. “Even when I was a little kid, I was drawing all over everything and myself.”
For many years, Pshyk created her art as a fun passion project. Her talents came naturally, describing herself as coming from an extremely artistic family that includes tattoo artists and interior designers.
Pshyk loves all her art, but says Stella is likely her favourite piece
In the past few years, she has transformed her talents into a business she calls Snow and Swirl Artistry, which includes not only her paintings, but other mediums such as clay houseplant décor and pendulum boards.
“I love my painting, but my personal aesthetic is a little weirder,” Pshyk explained while talking about her other forms of art. “I love anything weird and psychedelic – that’s how I got into little fairy houses and mushroom incense holders.”
“There’s my super technical side, and then a crazy fun side that even more doesn’t feel like work, but my heart will always be in painting, especially oil painting.”
“Two months before COVID hit, I did my first pot (piece),” she explained. “I’ve been a smoker my whole life. Weed is a huge thing, a medicine, and something I’ve really attached to.”
“I did one painting and was addicted, and now I just love doing them.”
Pshyk usually uses photos of real flower as references for her cannabis paintings. “It’s photorealism, so it’s a little more technical, but so fun because everything is different colours,” she stated.
“I got permission from other growers to use their bud pictures, and then I grew weed a little bit amateurly and took pictures of my own. I’ve also worked at a couple grows that I got pictures from.”
Developing a relationship with growers has led to some incredible commission work for Pshyk. She now has regular customers who will pick their favourite flowers from the year’s crop and get them painted to hang in their lobbies or workspaces.
Some of her commission work, however, has a much more personal touch.
One commission request came from a girl who only had a poor-quality, “foggy” photo. The client’s brother had been growing his first cannabis plant when he passed away. “The family finished growing it, and then they smoked it together. That was the only picture of it, so it ended up being a really wonderful thing to do.”
“I love when there’s a story. It’s not just a plant they grew or worked hard on. It means something to them.”
Besides the stunningly realistic quality of her paintings, Pshyk has taken the unique route of naming the pieces from her Maryjane collection classy girl’s names, a recommendation she got from a fellow artist on Facebook.
“I name everything! I named my vehicle. I named my bongs. Why am I not naming my paintings?”
Despite being hard-pressed to pick a favourite piece, she believes, “the one that I look at the most and I feel the best about is Stella. It just turned out perfect.”
Pshyk feels drawn to the weird and psychedelic
The name of her business, Snow and Swirl Artistry, also has special meaning for her. “I am an avid snowboarder – it’s my physical passion – so snow had to be in there,” she expressed. “As well, if you look at all my art, the common denominator is the swirls. Even when I doodle, that’s what I do. It’s kind of my trademark.”
Pshyk works hard to make her pieces accessible to the public, although social media algorithms can sometimes make her endeavours challenging.
“It has actually been very hard to get my work out. With COVID, there are no art shows anymore, so you are doing everything online. But if you post a painting that looks like real weed, it gets flagged,” she explained. “A lot of my stuff doesn’t get put out there, which I think is just such a shame.”
Fortunately, as legalization gets a firmer footing and scientific data supporting cannabis use becomes more prevalent and accessible, Pshyk is seeing a real positive shift in the reception to her work, even from those who were formerly anti-cannabis. “It’s an essential service – it really does help you through those times you’re not doing so well – and I am so happy to see other people coming around.“
“As negative as social media can be, now people can see this is truly something that is making a difference.”
Pshyk knows her art is up to interpretation, but states, “My goal is destigmatizing – just making someone feel introspective.”
“There is not a lot of tasteful weed art out there. I want to make something that somebody with very tasteful decor could hang in their living room, and everyone see how beautiful (cannabis) is.”
“I feel like the world is frustrated, and everyone feels broken. I hope that when someone looks at my art, they can just feel.”
Going forward, Pshyk has bright aspirations for her business. “I want to build it and be able to be an artist full time and do shows, but I also want to turn my company into something where I could help other artists, bring them in, and make it a collaboration. That is where I see myself in 5 years – getting a bunch of other artists to join the company and then branching out.”
By showing the world the elegant side of cannabis, Pshyk is helping push society toward acceptance and love of this life-changing plant and those who partake of it.
“It’s not simple, and it’s so beautiful.”
Pshyk’s work is available for sale on her website, as are requests for commission work. Much of her work can also be found on her Instagram.
