Steeles Public Library, Bamburgh Garden Shopping Centre, 375 Bamburgh Circle

8 x 10, oil

Ward 39, Scarborough-Agincourt
Councillor Jim Karygiannis

I'm pretty sure I was the only person at this mall who wasn't Chinese speaking. Since then, I have started to learn Mandarin, which I had always resisted, because I wanted to fit into white bread 1950's Ottawa. Now, in 2017 Toronto, it helps to speak fluent Chinese. The day I painted this, December 31, 2014, a harried shopper lectured me for three minutes because I had set up my painting gear in the parking lot. Had I known what I know now, I would have said, Mei wen ti - No problem!