'Old Wives' Tell No Lies

BumberShootStudio Paintings
Copyright 2016
'Betula'

If you didn't already know this by now then it's my duty to tell you,
you should never give iced drinks to children and it will also give you a stomach ache, actually all cold drinks are bad for your health.

I know this because I hear it everyday living in China, so it must be true.

Then, when I drink hot tea, I am told to not drink to much because that will take my heat away...

Don't ask!

It doesn't matter where your from in the world we've all got our share of urban legends we love to dig up now and again.  Eating the breads crust will give you curly hair, leather worn on your wrist will make you strong and coffee will stunt your growth.  Everyone's heard feed a cold, starve a fever, in fact many still swear by it!  I know it's hard to believe...but Shirley Temple didn't get her rolling ringlets from never leaving her sandwich bones behind.

I think it's safe to say though, that most of us in the West understand the idea that folklore happens and we all can have a good laugh about it.

But here in the East...

'old wives tales' go by the name 'custom' or 'tradition' and many are observed in everyday life.

So with that said, toxic poisoning from eating seafood with fruit,
chronic bad health from all the cold drinks I consume,

dancing with death by running the fan in a closed room with no open windows

and blindness from going to bed after washing my hair...
are all in a normal days life and times for me in the Middle Kingdom.

But don't worry, I've got this...
I come from a far away land, where the women are strong and my name is Diana,
yours truly...WW

Life In Contrast

BumberShootStudio Paintings
Copyright 2015
'Midnight Dance'
(Sold)

What's your favorite color? Blue, green maybe magenta? Color brings beauty to what otherwise would be dull and mundane, saturating the world around us with a celebration for the eyes. I also find color to have a musical allure.

When I see color I actually think of sound! When put together correctly color creates a melody. Warm colors to me are higher in pitch while cool colors are lower. Some people relate sound to color intensity, lighter pastels being higher (with more light reflection) and dark richer hues hit lower. Music is harmonization, the sound should flow and unify...same with color.

But good harmony and united color tones alone are not what makes a piece noteworthy. Believe it or not...contrast is where the energy lies, it creates emotion and is what makes something memorable, drawing us in time and time again. It brings depth and in doing so...'life' to the subject.

Too much contrast though, can bring the inverse effect and certainly snuff the 'life' out as well.

As an artist I am constantly trying to better this technique in my paintings but also in my own 'life' striving to make a difference...without disparity.