Born and raised in Lithuania, Bumstead followed her heart and moved to Canada in 1993 to be with her husband, Rod. She has since lived in Guelph, Paris and Flamborough.

Bumstead developed her appreciation for art at a very young age. She was inspired by the rich architectures of her country, thanks to her father who she describes as "a history buff." As a child and into her teens, Bumstead would accompany her father to the capital of Lithuania where they would spend the weekend frequenting various art exhibits or walking the streets admiring old buildings. They would soak in the culture of the city, absorbing the beauty of different art forms, including photography, sculptures and paintings.

In a recent interview, Bumstead recalled listening to her father's stories about the buildings and monuments, leaving the young girl to ponder how many people had walked past each building, how many times it had been changed what its history was.

These questions continue to fuel Bumstead's ideas for her drawings.

Thanks to her husband, she started taking her talent seriously, producing pieces for art shows and exhibitions. As she tried to incorporate a more Canadian feel in her work, she realized that she tended to focus on decayed objects.

"My husband and I love to drive around, stop at old barns and find things to inspire me," she said. "I like to put the object out there and I would be telling the story of the object from my point of view."

Through her work, Bumstead breathes new life into old objects, by giving them new stories. "When someone comes to see it, I want to provoke curiosity," she said.

Bumstead noted that art history, music and the arts as a whole were heavily promoted in school when she was a girl. "We had a fantastic art program at school, and a fabulous art teacher," who enabled students to experiment with various mediums on a wide range of projects, she said.

Bumstead continued her education in the arts, but never completed the program. "I believe if you have talent, you don't need to go to school," she said, explaining that the program was more focused on teaching the students specific techniques rather than letting their creative juices flow. According to Bumstead, there is no right way of holding a pencil or a brush.

"You could hold it with your mouth, as long as you do it and you love doing it, who cares how you are holding it."

Focused on the use of charcoal, pencil and conté, she sometimes experiments with watercolours for that extra-added punch.

Bumstead believes she has grown a lot as an artist over the past year or so. She told the Review that while she lived in Paris, Ontario, she was just drawing for fun.

"I would draw here and there," she said. "When we moved here, my husband basically said 'You have to try and see if you want to do it seriously, because you will never know.' At the end of the day, I don't know, maybe I would have missed the opportunity especially since I have the talent."

So in the spring of 2006 Bumstead starting getting serious about her art. She has been showing her pieces, selling her art and has had her work critiqued at juried exhibitions for the past year.

Last month, her work was featured at the 9th Annual Contemporary Art Juried Online International Art Exhibition. Bumstead submitted five of her drawings to Upstream People Gallery for evaluation. Her drawings, Rest of Time, Scuffler, Inevitable, Confessions, and Family Remains each received special recognition. The jurors described Bumstead's pieces as "outstanding work in charcoal pencil and watercolours."

Proud of her accomplishments, Bumstead admits that the hardest part for her is to start the drawing, as she has never been able to plan out her work in its entirety. She has to exercise caution when using charcoal pencils, as it is a tricky medium to work with. "Once it's pressed onto a page, you can't erase it," she explained.

Since none of her work is planned out to a tee before putting pencil to paper, Bumstead works with the mentality of "whatever happens just happens."

"Sometimes, something just clicks and it pours out of you and you don't want anyone to interrupt you. It's almost an addictive feeling, and that, I like," she said. "Getting into that groove is great."

When she draws, it is typical for Bumstead to have music, the television or both playing in the background. As she sits on a stool facing a large easel, she gets so much into her own thoughts that she needs to step away from her work.

"It requires so much concentration that it can bug your eyes if you do it non-stop," she noted. To do this, she steps away, glances over at the television or listens to the radio for a few minutes before going back to her craft.

"The radio or TV isn't a rule, it depends on my piece and what kind of mood it puts me in," she explained.

Bumstead is a member of the Ontario Society of Artists (OSA), through which she hopes to appeal to educational facilities to help promote art in schools.

"I don't think that art is promoted enough in schools, which I think is sad," she said.

Bumstead is dismayed that Ontario children aren't able to experience the culture around them the way she did. She hopes to provide art classes to students at local schools, helping them achieve a newfound appreciation for the arts.

Bumstead, who recently showed in Ottawa, is busy preparing for the 17th Annual Waterfront Festival in Coburg, which runs from June 29 to July 2. After that, she will be at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto, at the Outdoor Art Exhibition July 7-8 and at Oakville's Art in the Park on August 6.

Bumstead credits her husband for her past and upcoming appearances as well as her success, and she describes him as her driving force. "He pushed me towards it and told me to have fun with it," she said of her husband's support.

Bumstead's work is featured online at www.oksanabumstead.com and her juried work, along with the Upstream People Gallery juror's comments can be viewed online at www.upstreampeoplegallery.com under archived exhibitions.