The artist painted a hand forming a “peace” sign in both the Oklahoma City Plaza District and Tulsa’s Blue Dome District – both cities that have been in the news recently for shootings, Holbrook said. June’s mass shooting at St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa, killing four, made national news.

“I wanted to focus on the people, not the guns,” Holbrook said.

There is no firearm depicted in the artworks because he does not want the discussion to focus on gun rights, but on the root causes of gun violence, such as mental health issues and poverty.

“Peace OKC” was painted on a pole near the Plaza Walls mural installation on NW 16th Street in Oklahoma City; “Peace Tulsa” was painted in a parking lot near Detroit Avenue and Second Street in Tulsa.

Holbrook said he has lost 46 friends to gun violence. The mural project is sponsored by the Moving the Lives of Kids Community Mural Project, which is represented in public art installations across the U.S.