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Items tagged with: SimonORourke
Helping Hands (8 Photos)
Content warning: In cities and parks around the world, artists keep returning to the same universal symbol — the hand. In these works, hands lift, hold, plant, and protect. They rise from tree trunks, cradle saplings, and reach from brick walls to offer help. Together the
In cities and parks around the world, artists keep returning to the same universal symbol — the hand. In these works, hands lift, hold, plant, and protect. They rise from tree trunks, cradle saplings, and reach from brick walls to offer help. Together they form a quiet language of care — one that speaks of balance between people and nature, strength in connection, and the simple act of reaching out.
More: Made You Smile (11 Photos)
1. Caring Hand — Eva Oertli & Beat Huber in Glarus, Switzerland
A massive sculpted hand appears to rise from the earth to cradle a living tree, blending human form and nature in a symbol of guardianship.
About and more photos: The Caring Hand – Sculpture in Glarus, Switzerland
2. In Your Hands — Adrien Martinetti in Ajaccio, France
This mural merges real and painted worlds as a tree grows from the soil cradled in painted hands.
🔗 Follow Adrien Martinetti on Instagram
3. Give — Lorenzo Quinn in Venice, Italy
Quinn’s white marble hands rise from the grass, gently holding a sapling. The sculpture represents renewal and the balance between giving and protecting the planet’s fragile life.
🔗 Follow Lorenzo Quinn on Instagram
4. Keep Your Shine — Denis Dendy in Istanbul, Turkey
Two luminous hands, painted with fine detail, hold a glowing red sphere between their palms. The piece glows with quiet energy, expressing the power of light, creativity, and care contained within human touch.
🔗 Follow Denis Dendy on Instagram
5. Take My Hand — Michael Rosato’s mural in Cambridge, Maryland, USA
This mural of Harriet Tubman is painted on the side of the Tubman Museum and Education Center. Tubman is shown stepping out of a broken brick wall, arm extended as if reaching for the viewer’s hand. Behind her, a calm riverside landscape glows under a setting sun. The artwork is titled Take My Hand and has become an iconic tribute to her legacy.
🔗 Follow Michael Rosato on Instagram
6. The Remnants of the UK’s Tallest Tree — Simon O’Rourke in Wales, UK
Carved directly from the trunk of a fallen tree, this towering sculpture transforms what remains of a natural giant into a symbol of endurance — a hand still reaching upward even after loss. More about it!: From Tallest Tree to Towering Sculpture: The Giant Hand of the UK
🔗 Follow Simon O’Rourke on Instagram
7. Helping Hands — Exitenter in Florence, Italy
Exitenter’s minimalist street piece turns a wall corner into a story of mutual aid, where two stick figures collaborate to climb upward. Simple yet striking, it captures the essence of empathy in one small gesture.
🔗 Follow Exitenter on Instagram
8. Tribute to the Women of Ondarroa — Muraleslian in Ondarroa, Spain
Large-scale mural of two hands mending a fishing net, painted in grayscale with colored threads crossing through the lower half. Created as a tribute to the women of Ondarroa who sustained community life through their craft and labor. More photos and about it!: Tribute to the womens of Ondarroa (Spain) – Mural by Muraleslian
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More: 9 Sculptures That Blur Reality and Nature
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Made You Smile (11 Photos)
From a playful chalk monster to a balcony illusion that tricks the eye, this collection captures eight lighthearted street artworks and public interventions that bring smiles to passersby. From Paris to local sidewalks, here are moments where humor and creativity meet the streets.
More: Funny Signs! (18 Photos)
1. Balcony Illusion — Oakoak in Paris, France
A trompe-l’œil artwork showing two women leaning from a balcony, one laughing and the other observing, blending seamlessly with the building façade. More!: Wrong but Right – Art By Oakoak (9 Photos)🔗 Follow Oakoak on Instagram
2. Nadine and the Surprisingly Effective Joke — David Zinn in USA
Sidewalk chalk art where a rock forms the head of a wide-mouthed creature holding a tiny mouse-like character in blue, blending humor with natural surroundings. More!: 9 Cute Spring Drawings by David Zinn🔗 Follow David Zinn on Instagram
3. Have You Seen This Dog?
A playful flyer featuring a friendly dog with the text “Now you have. Have a GOOD day,” complete with tear-off tabs reading “Have a great day.”
4. Little People Museum — Slinkachu in UK
A miniature installation where tiny figurines examine a cigarette butt displayed as if it were a museum artifact, highlighting humor and commentary in scale. More!: 7 Tiny Street Dramas by Slinkachu🔗 Follow Slinkachu on Instagram
5. Pipe Legs
Two wall pipes painted with chalk shoes, turning ordinary infrastructure into the legs of a playful character.
6. R2-D2 with Flowers — EFIX in France
A painted R2-D2 holding flowers with a heart bubble, leaning toward a trash bin in a playful urban romance scene. More!: EFIX’s Clever Art (9 Photos)🔗 Follow EFIX on Instagram
7. Please Do Not Touch — Michael Pederson in Sydney, Australia
A dandelion framed with miniature museum-style posts and a sign reading “Please Do Not Touch,” turning an everyday weed into a delicate exhibit. More!: Clever Art By Michael Pederson (17 Photos)🔗 Follow Michael Pederson on Instagram
8. Charlie Chaplin — Tom Bob in USA
A before-and-after transformation where wall fixtures become part of a painted gentleman in a bowler hat, complete with a cane. Charlie Chaplin! More!: 33 Artworks by Creative Genius Tom Bob (That Will Make You Smile)🔗 Follow Tom Bob on Instagram
9. Ghostwalk — Oakoak in Auchel, France
A playful crosswalk intervention by Oakoak in Auchel, created during the festival Les Petits Bonheurs. The artist turned a simple crossing into a scene of animated white stripes reacting to a ghostly visitor. More by Oakoak: Lovely by Oakoak (10 Photos)🔗 Follow Oakoak on Instagram
10. The Fabulous Tale of Being Different — Case Maclaim in Madrid, Spain
Case Maclaim’s mural in Madrid depicts a young person in a wheelchair draped in vibrant fabrics, blending strength and softness in a single portrait. More photos!: The Fabulous Tale Of Being Different (by Case Maclaim in Madrid)Case Maclaim: I believe the actual beauty of fairy tales is that it is up to our imagination how the character looks and moves and that version is not really up to debate, as it is just like a fingerprint, very unique and personal. With this mural in the old, historical city center of Madrid I wanted to try a different approach. So I gave the viewer a new character of a yet unknown fairy tale. I have high hopes that it will encourage specially the young audience to come up with their very own story, in which the lead is a confident, black child in a golden wheelchair and in a self-made mermaid costume.
🔗 Follow Case Maclaim on Instagram
Dog trying to comfort sad painted boy
Stencil by Trevor Cole in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. Photo by [b]Erika Lopez[/b] of her dog Carlos.More: Absolutely Beautiful (8 Photos)
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oakoak (@oakoak_street_art) • Instagram photos and videos
126K Followers, 305 Following, 862 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from oakoak (@oakoak_street_art)www.instagram.com
When Trees Become Art (12 Photos)
Content warning: From monumental wooden sculptures in Mexico to carved tree trunks in Ghana, artists and nature join forces in unexpected ways. This collection features 12: roots forming geometric patterns in Hong Kong, trees turned into libraries in the Netherlands, scul
From monumental wooden sculptures in Mexico to carved tree trunks in Ghana, artists and nature join forces in unexpected ways. This collection features 12: roots forming geometric patterns in Hong Kong, trees turned into libraries in the Netherlands, sculptures that cradle saplings, and murals that play with real foliage. Each piece reveals how trees can transform into art that feels alive.
More: When Street Art Meets Nature (40 Photos)
1. Come Into Light — Daniel Popper in Tulum, Mexico
A monumental wooden figure with intricate carved details opens its chest to reveal a passage filled with greenery, blending sculpture and landscape in a striking way. More photos!: Come in to Light – Wooden Sculpture By Daniel Popper In Tulum, Mexico
🔗 Follow Daniel Popper on Instagram
2. Banyan Roots — Hong Kong
The roots of a banyan tree spread across a paved walkway in ordered, grid-like formations, creating a natural pattern that feels designed by hand.
3. Caring Hand — Eva Oertli & Beat Huber in Glarus, Switzerland
A giant sculpted hand emerges from the ground, gently cradling a growing tree in its palm, symbolizing protection and care for nature.
4. I’m Home — Wendy in Mexico
A black-and-white portrait painted inside the hollow of a tree trunk, giving the impression of a face living within the tree itself.
5. Fake Views — SMOK in Antwerpen, Belgium
A mural of a woman holding scissors appears to trim a real tree, blending painting and nature into a playful trompe-l’oeil. More photos!: Fake Views – By SMOK in Antwerpen, Belgium
🔗 Follow SMOK on Instagram
6. Give — Lorenzo Quinn
White sculpted hands rise from the grass to cradle a young tree, creating an image of support and responsibility toward the environment.
🔗 Follow Lorenzo Quinn on Instagram
7. In Your Hands — Adrien Martinetti in Ajaccio, France
A mural shows large, realistic hands holding soil while a real tree grows upward, merging painted illusion with living nature.
🔗 Follow Adrien Martinetti on Instagram
8. Open Air Library — Ruurlo, Netherlands
An old hollow tree trunk is transformed into a community library, with small wooden-framed shelves holding books inside its bark. More photos!: Tree Became a Library (+9 More Book Artworks)
9. Remnants of the UK’s Tallest Tree — Sculpture by Simon O’Rourke in Wales, UK
The trunk of Britain’s former tallest tree is carved into a towering hand reaching skyward, turning what remained of the tree into a symbol of resilience. More about it and photos!: From Tallest Tree to Towering Sculpture: The Giant Hand of the UK
10. Tree of Life — Aburi Botanical Gardens, Ghana
Detailed carvings cover the trunk of a tree, depicting human figures intertwined, turning the bark into a story of life and community.
11. Vortex at Little Milford Woods — Jon Foreman in Wales, UK
A spiral of autumn leaves wraps around the trunk of a tree, creating a vortex pattern that flows from the forest floor upwards. The installation highlights natural cycles with minimal intervention. More!: 9 Leaf Sculptures That Stir the Soul in the Forest (Art by Jon Foreman)
🔗 Follow Jon Foreman on Instagram
12. Nadine and the Chartreuse Respite — David Zinn in Ann Arbor, USA
A small character sits against the trunk of a drawn tree, using a patch of bright green groundcover as the foliage above. The figure holds a book while leaning on a purple stone, with scattered leaves placed around the scene. The drawing is integrated into the garden path, blending chalk illustration with real plants. More!: Happy Art by David Zinn (10 Photos)
🔗 Follow David Zinn on Instagram
More: Nature Is Everything (11 Photos)
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When Street Art Meets Nature (40 Photos)
When street art meets nature, the results are stunning. Some artists blend their murals seamlessly with the landscape, while others use real plants to bring their work to life.
In Ecuador, El Decertor painted a mural that merges with the natural surroundings. In Martinique, Nuxuno Xän turned a tree trunk into part of a painted figure. In New York, OGMillie created a floral mural that brightens the urban space. In Brazil, Fábio Gomes Trindade’s portraits use real bougainvillea as hair, while in Poland, Natalia Rak painted a girl appearing to water a living tree.These works show how street art and nature can come together in unexpected and beautiful ways.
More: 18 Stunning Land Art Creations by Jon Foreman: Nature’s Beauty in Stone Patterns
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By El Decertor – In Imbabura, Ecuador (2 photos)2
Flower Power by Fábio Gomes Trindade in Goiás, Brasil (3 artworks)Raising Awareness: Street Art as a Conservation Tool
Nature-inspired street art can be a powerful means of drawing attention to endangered species and emphasizing the importance of preserving natural habitats. By using their talents, street artists can become advocates for environmental conservation and ignite conversations about our shared responsibility to protect the planet.3
By Nuxuno Xän – In Fort De France, MartiniqueInspiring Sustainability: Environmental Messages in Street Art
Street art that incorporates natural elements can also raise public awareness about environmental issues and promote sustainable living. These awe-inspiring creations can encourage people to reflect on their impact on the environment and take action to reduce their carbon footprint, recycle, and preserve nature.4
In NicaraguaCreating a Sense of Place: Street Art Trails and Tourism
Street art can be used to design nature trails, where visitors can explore the environment while admiring artistic masterpieces. These trails promote tourism, allowing visitors to learn about the local ecosystem, culture, and history while appreciating the art. The fusion of street art and nature can foster a deep connection with the location and enhance the overall experience.5
Flower mural by OGMillie and Floratorium in New York (5 photos)6
In Pondicherry, India 2 photos7
By Robson Melancia in Dois Córregos, Brazil8
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By Fauxreel in Toronto, Canada11
Street Art by David Zinn (3 photos)12
“UMI” Sculpture by Daniel Popper in Lisle, Illinois 4 photos13
Cuteness overload! Chalk Art by David Zinn (6 photos)14
Legend about Giants by Natalia Rak in Białystok, Poland15
16 Photos – Street Art by Michael Pederson in Sydney, Australia16
Street Art by Pejac – A Collection17
By Jonna Pohjalainen – In Turku, Finland18
By Wild Drawing in Athens, Greece19
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Street Art by Oakoak – Calvin and Hobbes23
87 Perler Bead by Pappas Pärlor -Collection 124
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By Dr Love at Upfest – In Bristol, England27
Moss Graffiti by Carly Schmitt28
The Green Carpet – In Jaujac, France 6 photos to see it all29
Small Girl and small apple – By Oakoak30
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Street Art by JPS – A Collection (+40 photos)33
Garden Hot Air Balloon – By Oakoak34
Street Art by Vinie – A Collection (24 photos)35
The sleeping beauty – In Picardie, France36
“Beautiful Love” by Alter OS in Mexico City37
Come in to Light – Wooden Sculpture By Daniel Popper In Tulum, Mexico38.
Clothespin Sculpture by Mehmet Ali Uysal in Belgium.
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The Caring Hand by Eva Oertli and Beat Huber in Glarus, Switzerland.
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Kindergarten children dropped seeds in the crack of the sidewalk to see what would happen.
More: 8 Inspiring Sculptures Seamlessly Integrated with Nature
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From Tallest Tree to Towering Sculpture: The Giant Hand of the UK
Content warning: Giant Hand of Vyrnwy" is a breathtaking sculpture carved from the remains of the UK’s tallest tree, a Douglas Fir. Artist Simon O’Rourke transformed the tree’s 50-foot stump into a hand reaching skyward, symbolizing the tree’s final connection to the sky
The Douglas Fir known as the “Giant Hand of Vyrnwy” was once the tallest tree in the UK, standing over 50 meters high.
But as it grew older and weaker, it became unsafe. Instead of cutting it down completely, artist Simon O’Rourke turned what was left of the tree into a giant hand sculpture reaching for the sky.
“The Forestry Commission, who are looking after the area, decided that it would be a good idea to have a memorial to the tree and left a 50-foot stem when they felled it,” said O’Rourke. “They invited eight artists to tender for the job, and I got it.”
The sculpture is now part of a place called The Giants of Vyrnwy, which inspired O’Rourke’s idea. “There are a few tall Douglas firs growing in the Giants of Vyrnwy area, and I was going on the giants theme,” he explained.
O’Rourke, who has been carving wood for nine years, used 12 different chainsaws to make the sculpture. He has also carved other things, like a swan, an angel, a kingfisher, a chipmunk, and a giant clock.
In 2011, the tree was found leaning dangerously to one side. It also had two large cracks going up from its roots to about 3.5 meters high. To keep visitors safe, the Forestry Commission decided to cut it down. Before this, a tree expert had climbed it to confirm it was the tallest tree in the UK, ensuring its story would be remembered even after it was turned into art.
Tree Carving Specialist - For Home, Estates & Public Spaces
I am a world-renowned tree carving specialist in the UK. I create sculptures inspired by nature from statues to furniture. Worldwide bespoke commissions.Simon O'Rourke