World Peace Project Signed Brazilian Fine Art Painting, "Vietnamese Monk"

Seated peacefully in a dim room, a Buddhist monk in his saffron robes leisurely peruses the day's newspaper. Beside him are tempting baskets of fruit, and behind him an array of apothecary jars. Bia Ribas finds his calm demeanor inspiring, and has depicted Vietnamese monks in other paintings. This elegant acrylic on canvas radiates sensations of peace.

"It may seem romantic and maybe even innocent, but in order for us to open paths to world peace, we need to look at the "other" as a reflection of ourselves. If we want to have peace, we must start cultivating it within us. If we want governments and leaders to think about the well-being of their people, we must start doing the same within our families, together with our friends, implementing love, unity, compassion...If we want laws that protect us from being disrespected in our rights, that do us justice, we need to respect everyone in our "little world", teach our children, because it is with a lot of little worlds that our world is formed: the only home we know is our planet, our mother Earth, which has been so mistreated," says the artist.

"There are only two life options in this world: either we live under LOVE or under the rules of FEAR."

Titled "Monge Vietinamita" in Portuguese.