4/20 Artist Collab Interview: Emily May Rose

This year for 420, we decided to honour the cannabis industry by creating something special for Cannabis Amnesty. Afterall, we wouldn’t be here today without the support of early cannabis pioneers who paved the way. In Canada, an estimated 500,000 Canadians currently have a criminal record for cannabis possession. Racialized Canadians are disproportionately arrested for simple cannabis possession. In collaboration with local artists, we dropped a limited edition capsule collection of shirts with all proceeds going to Cannabis Amnesty.

We sat down with one of our artists, Emily May Rose, to talk about her design for Cannabis Amnesty and what has her excited about this collab with Thumbs Up Brand.

Tell us about yourself!

My name is Emily May Rose and I'm a Toronto-based artist and illustrator. My art is based on my own life and experiences, and features a recurring cast of wildlife characters (most notably, my raccoons) to depict funny narratives that are relatable to many of us who are trying to survive in an urban environment. My work can be found in many forms including murals, editorial illustration, apparel design, installations, and gallery settings. My murals can be found all over the world where I've painted in street art festivals, artist residencies, and other commissions in my various travels.

How would you describe your artistic/creative style?

My work is very bright and graphic. When I paint I use materials with a flat effect, like acrylic gouache, spraypaint, and house paint.

Thumbs Up Brand x Emily May Rose Long-Sleeve Tee

Tell us about the design/artwork you created for this Thumbs Up Brand 4/20 collaboration. What inspired you to take it in the direction you did?

I loved working on this project because I was able to draw imagery that I don't use in my more narrative scenes. The design I created stemmed more from the drawing I do when I am doodling freely, and 4/20 is such a fun theme to draw on. I start by getting all of my thoughts into images and then from there I can polish them, push them further, and arrange them into one cohesive composition. The whole process was organic and enjoyable, like how can you not laugh while drawing a flower in a bong vase?

What about this collaboration with Thumbs Up has you excited?

I'm always excited to design wearables! The long sleeve is a fun canvas to work on, I just love a sleeve print. Half my wardrobe is sleeve prints by now, and that smokey happy face? Come on. I can't wait to wear this.

As an artist, where do you draw inspiration from?

I've never really felt like I needed "inspiration" to work. If I have to say something via an image I will just sit down and figure out how it translates into a drawing. I guess I could say I'm just inspired all the time by my life and my friends, even just walking around the city gets my mind going about what I'll paint next. The raccoon memes that are regularly sent to me help as well.

Thumbs Up Brand x Emily May Rose Limited Edition Print (18 x 24”) - purchase a print/shirt HERE

Describe your relationship with cannabis.

It's moreso something I wind down with after a long day of working on illustrations and paintings. My mind will be going a mile a minute all day and then I'll just smoke to relax before I go to bed.

This or that: Dried flower, edibles, or vapes?

Edibles for sure, especially a low dose one where I can make sure I'm not going to get too high and start being weird, or eating all the shredded cheese in the house.

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You can buy Emily May Rose’s limited edition 420 shirt here. All proceeds will be donated to Cannabis Amnesty.