Räihälä started the Rock Painting in October 2003. He was in a hurry, because the première was scheduled to January the 17th 2004. After some hectic working the composition was finished in December 2003. The work is written for a wind quintet, piano and a string quintet. The first performance was heard on the mentioned day. The Uusinta Chamber Ensemble was conducted by Eva Ollikainen.

The title refers to a rock painting in Suomussalmi, Räihälä's original home commune in Kainuu, north-east Finland. This painting was done some 4000-4500 years ago and has 61 figures, mostly humans and mooses. The double meaning of the title inspired Räihälä to blend all his musical influences in this delightful and swinging piece. Rock Painting starts with a five minutes lasting passage that is more or less idiomatic contemporary art music, but after a while the music slides into a jam session with riffs that get constantly more powerful. This jamming is in fact strictly written out, apart from the three solos, improvised by the flutist, the violist and the clarinettist. In the première these soloists were Lauri Toivio, Max Savikangas and Marko Portin. The work lasts about 15 minutes.