The Great Tree

Nature is inherently permissionless, much like Bitcoin.

The Great Tree is a symbolic artwork that visualizes Bitcoin as a living, growing tree - a forest of freedom rooted in truth and collective memory. A single seed holds the information of thousands of trees and in the same way, a Bitcoin seed phrase carries the value of an entire generation.

There is a concept of mathematical beauty - the idea that nature tends to follow mathematical patterns that give rise to harmony and balance. In a similar way, Bitcoin can be seen as a form of naturally emerging, mathematically grounded beauty in money: a system where order, symmetry, and trust arise from pure logic rather than external control or central design.

Materials:

Watercolor paper, Ballpoint pen, Gouache color (fluorescent color)

Dimensions:

Width: 60cm Height: 90cm

Time required:

Approximately 60 hours

"The Great Tree"

Finnished with block 949216

Signature TxId

Buy this Arwork

Mathematical beauty

When observing nature and the emergence of life, we discover how simple forms evolve into larger and more harmonious systems, often unfolding through fractal patterns. Small elements connect, grow, and organize themselves into increasingly complex expressions of order and balance.

The evolution of money mirrors this same process. Throughout history, many different stages of value exchange have emerged, adapted, and faded away. Bitcoin can be seen as the next evolutionary form arising from the foundations of those earlier systems — a network shaped through mathematics, decentralization, and collective consensus. Like patterns found in nature, it grows organically: resilient, interconnected, and built from simple principles that expand into something far greater than their individual parts.

Watch the Making Of

Fractal patterns

For the artwork The Great Tree, I focused on an art form that deeply appeals to me: fractal patterns. I am fascinated by the organic, natural shapes found in nature, especially those reflected in the structure of trees and branches. These intricate forms can be expressed beautifully through the use of ballpoint pen techniques.

Contrast

After creating the sketch, I painted the background in darker tones using watercolor while leaving the area around the tree untouched. This allowed me to achieve deeper shadows and stronger contrast later with the ballpoint pen.

Watercolor paper

Drawing with a ballpoint pen on cold-pressed watercolor paper has a very special appeal. The rough, textured surface feels satisfying when drawing lines with the pen.

Bitcoin-related insights

After approximately 60 hours, I completed the tree, including its roots, branches, and leaves. As I often do, I also "engraved" a few Bitcoin-related insights into the trunk of this tree, which is shaped like a Bitcoin “B.”

As with other works in my Genesis series, this piece also contains a hidden word from one of my Bitcoin wallets. You can learn more about my larger project, The Great Riddle.