For Convenience Sake

BumberShootStudio Paintings

From the time I first sprouted a pinto bean in a plastic bag with wet paper towels, I knew I was meant to garden, it was in my blood. I was five years old then.

My dream of growing up and having a place with this garden never transpired quite like I thought. But if it had, it would have been complete with chickens who laid plenty of eggs and a cow who gave plenty of milk. This would of course mean plenty of fresh cream and butter! There would be many other animals in my little garden of Eden as well, but that is another story...

Over the years I have seen eggs become artificial, margarine take the place of butter...and milk, well who needs milk anymore! Everything is processed now, even our fruits and vegetables have been tampered with. All in the name of convenience (and money).

The idea behind saving time and simplifying our work sounds good but somehow always seems to come at a cost.

As I sit in a foreign country that is literally riddled with cancer...dutifully soaking my fruits and vegetables in vinegar water because of the amounts of pesticides used on them...I can't help but think about the consequences for convenience sake that seem to plague us all,

no matter where we reside. 

True Color

BumberShootStudio Paintings
Copyright 2016
'Mirror, Mirror'

Mirror, mirror on the wall...
It was the day before a routine hair appointment to color my gray roots
when I glanced in the mirror and saw something I had never seen before. It looked like someone had dumped glitter all over my head!

It was a couple weeks passed the normal time I usually had my hair dyed to cover the monthly growth, so the silver was long enough to catch the light...it actually sparkled!

In nineteen-ninety-four my family and I moved to China, within three years I had gone prematurely gray. I was in my twenties when I had to start coloring my hair. I have been dying my hair every month since without giving it a second thought, never once have I questioned it...

Covering your gray hair is what we do, especially if your a woman,
my time just came sooner then others and that is as deep in thought about it as I went. Which is strange for me because I'm not the status quo kinda gal.
The stigma that comes with the gray hair is quite powerful.

Staring in that mirror, twenty years and over two-hundred bottles of dye later,
I saw a glimpse of the real me for the first time...
and I love it!

The Beauty In Joy

BumberShootStudio Paintings
Copyright 2016
'Lotus'

Within the murky, muddy waters....
Lotus grow.

It's custom here in China to not smile at strangers when walking on the street, taught this from childhood...why would you smile at someone you don't know?  As Americans...we do smile at strangers and the responses I find here are quite interesting.

Almost all the young people will smile back at me and almost all the middle aged men will also (being that I'm a woman and a foreigner may have a slight bearing on that second one).  Interesting though, I receive fewer smiles from the middle aged women.

The older folks are more of a mixed group...some will, some won't, but those who do, it's their expressions I love the most!  When they smile back at you a complete transformation takes place.  The cold hard exterior that's been left behind from a life of struggle and hardship melts away to pour joy.  Beauty so genuine it moves my heart every time I see it.

Joy is the expression of glad feelings, a state of happiness...it's also a choice.  I've found some of the most beautiful things grow in the most difficult places.

Perspective

BumberShootStudio Paintings
Work In Progress

"The well water is good for drinking."

"But there are fish swimming in it" I said.

"Yes of course, the fish show us the water is good" they said.

"If the fish are dead...don't drink it."

Passion

BumberShootStudio Paintings
Copyright 2014
'Old Timer'

Years ago someone asked me what my passion was, I am very passionate about my marriage and my faith but they were not just referring to these areas.

Life is busy, it's busy for all of us. Jobs, children, ministry, we seldom take time to relax and have a moment for ourselves...there's just not enough of time in one day.
People who are 'passionate' about something though...will make the time for it, television and video games are not what we are talking about here.

This resonated with me because my brain seems permanently stuck in high gear with the adrenaline flow switch calibrated to maximum output. So I asked myself does anything else I know function at a quality level and at it's utmost capacity for a long period of time like this?

I had already been painting and really enjoyed it for many years, but only painted when I had free time. I decided to change that and make the time on a regular basis...taking time out of my calendar to do something that I find relaxing and enjoyable has benefited my health greatly.
Going through life in overdrive is a formula for disaster!

There is a fervor and longing that comes from developing a passion for something, you won't be looking for spare time to squeeze it in...It becomes a must!

'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.