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.

Time Conceptualization

BumberShootStudio Paintings
Copyright 2016
'Long Life'
(Sold)

As an American, living overseas has many challenges, simple tasks are never straightforward and the concept of time has an entirely different meaning.

China 1994...

You seriously could not get more than one thing done a day, if you needed to do some banking, pay a bill and mail a letter...forget it!

Transportation was horrendous, by the time you made it to your destination it would be lunch and then everybody closed up shop for the next three hours to sleep.

China 2016...

Thankfully it is possible to knock out several things now in one day, you can do your banking, pay a bill and mail a letter...no problem.

Transportation does still have delays but nothing like before and lunch is down to one hour.

The years have brought growth and development but the understanding of what timing is has been misfiled somewhere between 'we should get to that' and 'not so much'.

So to my family and friends who are just now receiving my cards in the mail from China...

Merry Christmas!

The Real Deal

BumberShootStudio Paintings
Work In Progress

"It's from the Qing Dynasty" he said and continued to explain how he came to acquire it. With his poor pronunciation of Mandarin (he spoke a different dialect) and our limited grasp of the language, we understood very little.

He kept saying "it was worth much" pointing to a wad of crumpled newspaper under his jacket. He went on to reveal what seemed to be a solid gold Chinese bullion.

He wanted to get rid of it fast, we could have it "cheap" he kept saying, only two-thousand US dollars. This was twenty-two years ago and we hadn't been in China long...the gold actually looked authentic.

By the time my husband finished haggling the price and we walked away with the gold in our hands for only two US dollars...we knew it wasn't.

It turned black shortly after that.

The real deal can only come from something genuine.

The outside may look and feel legitimate but what's on the inside...it's true substance, is what really matters.