Rishiri Island (利尻島) Print

Rishiri Island (利尻島) is one of the 100 Famous Japanese Mountains. It is a high island in the Sea of Japan off the coast of Hokkaido, Japan. Administratively the island is part of Hokkaido Prefecture, and is divided between two towns, Rishiri and Rishirifuji. The island is formed by the cone-shaped extinct volcanic peak of Mount Rishiri. The photo is taken by a Japanese photographer, Tanaka Masaaki (田中 正秋). This is my forth oil painting that I did in 2019. In 2019, Hong Kong people are facing the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement, also known as the 2019 Hong Kong protests. I want to paint something that embodies a solid spirit to remind us to be strong to face this circumstance. At that moment, I think of a song from Plum Village, “Breathing in, breathing out”. One of the song lyrics is “I am solid as a mountain.”, and this melody keeps ringing in my head. Therefore, I decided to paint this beautiful mountain for reminding me this motto and the beauty of our nature.