We were lucky to catch up with Tracy Pshyk recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tracy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I have always been a creative person and dabbled in different creative endeavors even in my early teens. I knew creativity would always be a part of my life no matter what. I didnt actually really consider selling art or even doing it as a career until i was about 27 and i moved to a small mountain town called Fernie, BC. My employers there found out I was an artist and asked me to do a mural on the hotel wall (i was a hotel housekeeper and they owned the hotel). I did it and it was such a great rush and challenge. I had never worked on a scale even close to that nor had i had someone give me full scale creative control of the project. After i did that they commissioned me for about 12 to 15 other projects ranging from portraits to themed abstract art to landscapes. Every project was unique and had different subject matter so it blew my mind what i could even do artistically. I couldnt even believe i was getting paid to make all this amazing art. A few years later i moved back home to Kelowna where there is a very prominent artist community. I decided to give it a go and ten years later its insane how much i have grown, in my business but also just as an artist.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a mixed media artist from Kelowna,BC. All my life I have been a creative person. I have been painting since I was 18 and 20 years later my passion is as strong as ever. I started in acrylic and then for the last 7 years have done primarily oils on canvas. Now i have expanded my mediums adding acrylic gouache, molding paste, posca pen, and more. I spent a long time working towards doing photrealism or even hyperrealism in oils. My content was cannabis flowers, local landscapes, black and white portraits, and animal portraits. I love doing custom paintings for clients, usually with a sentimental value. I usually use a provided photograph for reference. I have always dabbled in more abstract or surreal ideas alongside my realism. I have recently started working in multiple mediums and styles to grow more creatively as an artist. Now i have many more options and styles to offer clients. I have never been one to put myself in one box so it feels good to push the creative envelope. I rebranded my company to Snow &Swirl Artistry so that one day i can have multiple artist working together as a collective.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

Well, first one is i wish i knew about more of the mediums available to me. I always thought there were only three kinds of paint and now i know there is tons of options to choose from and so many new ways you can create art. Now i can create endlessly in ways i never thought possibly.

The other resource is social media. I wish i had taken more time earlier on to learn the different ways to promote myself on social media. Now i can still leanr but the algorithms make it much harder to get art seen. In the beginning it was much easier so im sad i missed the boat on that!

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

In the age of social media definitely like and share anything you see and genuinely like. It goes such a long way. Especially now that its the way of the future. Also, just buy art. I know not everyone can afford it and thats ok but maybe instead of buying a print from walmart buy a print from a local artisan. Not every artist is charging an arm and a leg so some art is affordable. You have to take into context the work and hours that go into every piece as well. Support local artists!

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.snowandswirlartistry.com
• Instagram: Www.instagram.com/snowandswirlartistry
• Facebook: Www.facebook.com/[email protected]