B.C. woman sets Guinness World Record for largest spice painting

An artist from B.C.'s Lower Mainland has earned a very unique Guinness World Record after spending months painting an 84-square-metre cloth with colourful spices.

Surrey resident Preethi Vijay completed her massive painting – a butterfly coloured with a mix of turmeric, paprika and clove – back in September, but her record was only confirmed last week.

"I was so honoured and so thrilled that I was able to achieve something like this," Vijay told CTV News.

Vijay said she began teaching herself how to paint about a decade ago, after leaving behind a career in software engineering. She now sells portraits and paintings on social media.

At some point, she decided to try painting with natural materials – mostly those found in the kitchen, including coffee.

"I love to work with coffee," Vijay said. "Then I suddenly had this idea to work with spices like turmeric, paprika – vibrant colours."

After learning someone had already set a Guinness record for painting with spice – a 62.72-square-metre piece created by a university student in 2020 – Vijay decided to take up the challenge.

The first hurdle was securing a large enough cloth, which she picked up in her hometown of Chennai, India, and had couriered back to British Columbia.

For paint, she used a combined five kilograms of spices that she mixed with water and applied with a normal paintbrush.

Because of the enormous surface she was using, Vijay was unable to pack up her painting at the end of the day or even protect it from the elements – which led to a few frustrating setbacks when the rain washed away her progress.

"I chose the summertime during July, August and September to do this but the weather is still a bit unpredictable," she said.

More often, though, the problem was wind, which would send the dried paint drifting away: "It would fly and go up my nose," Vijay said.

By Sept. 12, the artwork was finally finished and she was able to submit the records and measurements to the Guinness team for verification.

Earlier this month, another B.C. resident secured a Guinness record as the oldest man to do a headstand. Bruce Ives managed the feat at age 84.