This incredible instagram artist named Raku Inoue creates pictures of animals, plants, and insects out of flower petals and it’s breathtaking.

National Geographic

The artist gained a lot of inspiration from reading National Geographic, so it makes sense that some of his most amazing flower-petal creations are recreations of images that he’s seen in the NatGeo magazines he obsessed over as a kid.

Nature

A lot of the images that are posted to his instagram have a clear message and a clear purpose — to encourage people to pay attention to the environment and do what it takes to save animals from the dangers of polluting the Earth with oil and plastic, and trash in general.

Rainbow Beetle

I’m not a fan of insects by any stretch, but when I see these beetles and butterflies created out of flower petals I can’t help but feel like maybe there is some beauty in insects? I mean, I would never want to “experience” this beauty up close, but I think it’s definitely something that I could appreciate from a safe distance.

Alpaca & Parrot

I have to be honest, the parrot on the right really reminds me of the ViewSync monitors I used to have for my computers as a kids. Also the test page that came out of every color printer I owned. But man does this picture look incredible.

Artist Background

Reika was born in Tokyo, Japan, but moved to Montreal, Canada when he was nine years old. His parents made sure to introduce him to Japanese culture properly, so he spent a lot of time doing origami. This is probably something that really helped him have the patience and meticulous attention required to make the amazing art he creates these days.

Artistic Mediums

In his past, Reika has experimented with many art forms. He’s done sculpting, drawing, painting, and (obviously) he’s also done some photography. However, at some point he chose not to deny himself the pleasure of working closer with “nature” to create his projects, so he moved towards the kind of art you can see on his website and Instagram.

Art vs Business

In several interviews Reika has talked about his experience being a full-time artist. A lot of his money comes from commissions (when people or companies ask for custom pictures to be made for them). He has said that he enjoys the freedom he has to dedicate his time to something he loves, but he finds it difficult to balance his love for art with the contemporary need of running your art like a business as a freelancer.

Dedication to self-expression

Reika has experimented with many art forms and found it very challenging to pursue his hobbies when they weren’t bringing him any recognition. He even quit art for a while. But, after some time, he found that something was pulling him back towards creation.

What drives him now

These days, he says that his art is no longer about avoiding rejection and seeking acceptance. Now it’s something that he does to make sure he’s constantly challenging himself and staying true to the things that are important to him.

Culture

As you can see from the past three images, Reika’s personal background plays a big role in the art he creates. Even though he lives and works in Canada now, Japanese culture is still a constant theme in a lot of his work. This includes dragons, samurai helmets, and samurai swords.

Protecting Nature

And, as we’ve mentioned before, a lot of his work also revolves around bringing attention to the topic of conserving nature and saving the animal species that are under risk of extinction now. For example, the Rose Butterfly is a critically endangered species due to climate change and the losses in the natural habitat of this Butterly species.

The Ridley Sea Turtles are native to the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, which (as we have covered in previous articles) is the most polluted sea on the planet.

Bumblebees, Elephants, and Orangoutangs

Here are another three species of animals that are endangered.

Bumble bee populations have gone down nearly 90% since the 90s, and all of this is due to urbanization, climate change, and the widespread use of pesticides.

The Borneo Pygmy Elephants are endangered by deforestation and poaching.

The Sumatran Orangoutangs are endangered due to deforestation due to the palm oil production, poaching and habitat loss.