- Moon shadow - 100x80cm 2009 (Kami Furano)

  I painted a red spruce primeval forest a whole winter, on the side of Mt. Tokachi about a few thousand meters above sea level situated in the middle of Hokkaido. I wore snowshoes from the hot spring Inn and I climbed up the snow mountain really slowly so that I wouldn't sweat and get cold later. Then I arrived at the place where I could see the motif.

  The height of the trees was over 30 meters. I couldn't even reach around half a trunk with my arms. The branches were pointed to the ground on an angle because of the heavy snow falls over a long time. This increased their dignity. These beautiful woods are one of the most outstanding spots in Japan. Sometimes the trees are surrounded by fog, sometimes the trees are hazed in snowstorms. Sometimes the trees soak up the moon light, sometimes the trees stand in front of beautiful coloured clouds. I felt some great will when I wondered about the time the trees have stood in silence, and I wondered about our small lives.