During the 80's, most of my energy went into teaching piano, both privately and in group situations at different schools... and playing tennis for the C team at the West Island Tennis Club. I enjoyed the camaraderie tennis provided and realized that I relished the competition up to a point.

Laika, our German Shepherd (retrieved from a potato sack as a puppy) became the joy and frustration of our lives. She could "play the piano", do hide-and-seek, sleep under the bed-covers but also run helter-skelter as soon as the front door squeezed open to rip open every neighbourhood garbage bag in sight - or devour whole BBQ chickens or roasts inadvertently left on the kitchen counter. In addition, she relished the broccoli & spinach which was surreptitiously fed to her under the table. So much for using the Canada Food Guide on my sons !

I did some painting, mainly flowers in soft pastel colors and always in oils, using pale blues and pinks with a lot of white. It was the style of the times and I just needed to blend in. I joined the Beaconsfield Artists Association, taking some courses and joining group exhibits. One summer, Helmut Gerth who taught at Stewart Hall, conducted a workshop in Kennebunkport, Maine for watercolor artists. While I loved the colorful landscape by the ocean, I found myself alone and hopelessly inadequate as I was surrounded by seasoned artists who all seemed to know each other. I was still unfamiliar with the arts scene in the suburbs and was trying to find a place to fit in and be accepted. This was certainly not Jonquière.

The 80's for me was a bubble which floated by me all too quickly. In 1988 a family visit to the in-laws in Goa inspired 2 paintings.