Tropical Forest-Scape and Profile Paintings (Article in Progress)

Tropical Forest-Scape and Profile Paintings

Dr Abe V Rotor 

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. (Henry David Thoreau, quoted in the movie “Dead Poets Society”)

"Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth." — Hermann Hesse

"The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit." — Nelson Henderson

"A tree is rooted in the earth; the deeper its roots go, the higher its branches rise. The tree can whisper with the clouds only if its roots go very deep into the earth. The proportion is the same; the higher the tree, the deeper the roots. There is a balance. The tree can touch the stars, but then the roots have to go to the very rock bottom." (Osho)

No matter how beautiful architecture men can make, they will never create such a wonderful thing as a tree. (Pier Luigi Nervi)

"Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves." (John Muir)

;

Do like trees: change the leaves, but keep the roots. So, change your ideas, but keep your principles. (Victor Hugo)

"The trunks of trees are separate, but the roots hold on to each other tightly and the branches at the top are interwoven. They are united at the deepest and the higher level. Men should be like an immense forest."  (Romano Battaglia)

"Be like a tree. The tree gives shade even to him who cuts off its boughs." — GoodGoodGood

"Every time you feel lost, confused, think about trees, remember how they grow. Remember that a tree with lots of branches and few roots will get toppled by the first strong wind, while the sap hardly moves in a tree with many roots and few branches. Roots and branches must grow in equal measure, you have to stand both inside of things and above them, because only then will you be able to offer shade and shelter, only then will you be able to cover yourself with leaves and fruit at the proper season." (Susanna Tamaro)

"Do you want to know where I found my inspiration? In a tree; the tree supports the large branches, these the smaller branches and the twigs support the leaves. And every single part grows harmonious, magnificent." (Antoni Gaudì)

Let's Protect the Wildlife like Our Pets (Taming the Wildlife - A Lesson in photography)

National Pet Day April 11, 2026

Let's Protect the Wildlife like Our Pets

Formerly, Taming the Wildlife - A Lesson in photography

The rules of Nature are the same, bold and cruel,

benevolent and fair.

Photos and Verses by Dr Abe V Rotor

 

Papilio butterfly resting on a jar of water.  At home, QC   

Caution, slowly get close to your subject,

     a blue butterfly sitting by the water;

like Narcissus admiring his own image; 

     through the lens you're a storyteller.   

Salamander, aquatic reptiles raised as aquarium pets. At home, QC 

Prehistoric in miniature, these reptiles are,

     living fossils frozen by time;

revealed by macro lens the past before human

     came to earth over the clime. 

Parrots and love birds in captivity offer a close photographic 

study of colors and plumage designs. At home, QC

The hardest subject in photography is wildlife;

     unless you study them in captivity;

adapted and acclimatized they yield to details,

     obedient sans freedom and natural beauty.  

A carp eyeing a potential prey across a glass wall. 

Two worlds apart these creatures live: 

    one in water, the other in air;

Yet the rules of Nature are the same,

    bold and cruel, benevolent and fair. ~  

show them you're trustworthy, kind and true. ~

 10 Verses to Live By Every Day

"That others may learn and soon trust you,

show them you're trustworthy, kind and true. ~

Verses and Photos by Dr Abe V Rotor

Banaoang Pass, Santa, Ilocos Sur, wall mural by the author 

at his residence in San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

1. Walk, don't run, to see better and to know
the countryside, Mother Nature and Thou.~

2. We do not have the time, indeed an alibi
to indolence and loafing, letting time pass by.

Sun on a hazy day

3. As we undervalue ourselves, so do others
undervalue us. Lo, to us all little brothers.

4. Self-doubt at the start is often necessary
to seek perfection of the trade we carry.

5. What is more mean than envy or indolence
but the two themselves riding on insolence.

6. The worst kind of persecution occurs in the mind,
that of the body we can often undermine.

7. How seldom, if at all, do we weigh our neighbors
the way we weigh ourselves with the same favors?

8. Friendship that we share to others multiplies
our compassion and love where happiness lies.

    Morning rainbow, Bamban, Tarlac 

9. Evil is evil indeed - so with its mirror,
while goodness builds on goodness in store.

10. That others may learn and soon trust you,

show them you're trustworthy, kind and true. ~

Gem on a Pine and its Shadow

Gem on a Pine and its Shadow

Original Title: Gem Perched on a Tree

Dr Abe V Rotor



Atop Tagaytay Ridge, March 24 2013 Photo by the author.

The brightest gem perched on a tree is looking through,
       to see in its shadow a family free;
to whose care these are to the world and humanity,
       a gift of a Creator, loving and true. ~

Ode to a Stream on the Wall

Ode to a Stream on the Wall

Mural by Dr Abe V Rotor


Markus 1 (in stroller), with friends at home in Lagro QC, 2016

Flow gently, sweetly with the breeze
and sing with the little children;
whisper with the rocks and trees,
make every creature their friend.

Sing the songs of the forest deities,
the cheerful crickets and birds,
lullaby of Mozart, chorus of Liszt:
"Grow and be happy,” they urge. ~

Butterfly's Alive in Children's Art

Butterfly's Alive in Children's Art
Living with Nature Center

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Dr Abe V Rotor

“Butterflies are nature’s angels. They remind us what a gift it is to be alive.” —Robyn Nola, Appreciation and Love for Nature

When was the last time you saw a butterfly,

fluttering among flowers in the garden?

No, not on the cellphone, not in the books.

Go, find this lost lovely beauty and friend.

Make it alive in your hands, in your mind

with colors bright and happy in your heart;

tell the world her message of love, peace,

and shall never, never from us, depart.

“When the spirit of nature touches us, our hearts turn into a butterfly!” 

—Mehmet Murat Ildan (Contemporary Turkish playwright, novelist and thinker.)

Author demonstrates basic art under the trees.
   

  
 Children's Summer Art Workshop at author's residence

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Go, search your butterfly in the field,

to where she lives free and happy.

No, not with the lens or any gadget;

enshrine her forever like a deity. ~

"Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you." - Nathaniel Hawthorne (American novelist and short story writer.) ~

"Chicks emerge from under a brooding hen."

 "Chicks emerge from under a brooding hen." 

Dr Abe V Rotor

     Sweet sound breaks the calm morning air,

  peaceful and happy in a country fair.

 the newly hatched chicks meet the world,

a mystery of life many times told.

Chicks emerge from under a brooding hen at home. 

Living with Nature Center, San Vicente, Ilocos Sur. 

Unedited photos by the author. 

"The hen symbolizes motherhood - love and care for her brood - with perseverance until her chicks are fully weaned." - avr