I am a Student of Evolving Art

                 I am a Student of Evolving Art  

"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." - Confucius

Dr Abe V Rotor

 

It's advanced impressionism,

a little of Van Gogh and Picasso.

But who am I to found a school?

Art as a theory is all I know.

"I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for." - Georgia O'Keeffe

Relief painting with a palette knife,

to capture a hatching egg;

take the backseat brush, the time is ripe

for freedom in art, I beg.

“Freedom is the soul of art.” “Even science is art, when it flows pure and free - literature is art, when it flows pure and free - mathematics is art, when it flows pure and free. Any act of the mind that flows pure and free, is art, for freedom is the soul of art.”― Abhijit Naskar, Lives to Serve Before I Sleep

Glass painting in three-dimensions,

I gave one side a transparent aura;

on the main pane, the subject matter;

seen combined, it's a diorama.

"The arts are not a frill. The arts are a response to our individuality and our nature, and help to shape our identity. What is there that can transcend deep difference and stubborn divisions? The arts. They have a wonderful universality. Art has the potential to unify. It can speak in many languages without a translator. The arts do not discriminate. The arts lift us up." - Barbara Jordan

Red for lack of other essential colors -

unconventional I was, yet an amateur,

imagining some culinary flavors,

art is both experience and adventure. 

"Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere." - Albert Einstein

No plan, no perspective, wheretofore

goes my art? I wonder.

Yet I kept on and on, to explore  

art in some hidden corner.

"One can compare art education to the solid foundation for a house - once it's built properly, it will hold any shape or form you will place on it." - Igor Babailov

Impressions of wild flowers with wet paint

leave footprints that shall not depart;

I say, Eureka, I found it, I found it! 

A li'l Archimedes I am, in art. 

Sperms seen under the lens,

searching an egg by chance;

in union a new life arises,

passes this way, but once.  

"It's called the incubation period. The incubation period - one of the four phases of creativity - is when you're not consciously thinking of a problem, and you're letting it marinate. So this is why you hear time and again, people saying they had that "Eureka" moment in the bath, like Archimedes, or in the shower, or while going for a walk or in a coffeehouse."— Eric Weiner 

Acknowledgement: Internet Quotes ~

Capture and Enshrine Nature in Murals

  Capture and Enshrine Nature in Murals

Capture sweet memories of nature,

relive, enshrine;

capture time, brief as it may -

it's yours and mine.

                                            Murals and Poem by Dr Abe V Rotor

     Living with Nature Mural, San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Wall mural at EA  Apartelle, San Vicente, Ilocos SurI

NFA Farmers' Museum, Cabanatuan NE

Agoho Trees and Pond, SPUQC

                              Author poses with his work, Forest Stream, SPUQC

Capture nature in murals,

as big as screen;

capture creation from imagination

as it has been;

capture sunrise and sunset,

and the moonbeam;

capture the breeze passing over

a lovely stream;

capture the lilies in the pond rising

with the sunbeam;

capture the clouds becoming nimbus

before the rain;

capture the rivulets from the hills

writhing in pain;

capture the creatures talking,

sing and scream;

capture the essence of the gods

into a theme;

capture silence away from where

you have been;

capture the throb of the heart

away from sin;

capture the world in a grain of sand,

pure and crystalline;

capture nature through the arts,

classic and fine;

capture sweet memories of lost nature,

relive, enshrine;

capture time, brief as it may -

it's yours and mine. ~

Floor-to-wall-to-ceiling mural at author's residence

 San Vicente, Ilocos Sur ~

Reference: Don’t Cut the Trees, Don’t

Abercio V Rotor and University of Santo Tomas, Copyright 2010

The World in his Paint Brush

                                 The World in his Paint Brush

Dr Abe V Rotor

 

Markus 2 author's grandson paints a mural 2015, QC

"Freedom in imagination, young as he is, while grownups yearn for expression outside the confines of art; who is the master then? Yet, the path that he takes is rough and uncertain, sans model and determination he'll miss his aim." - A V Rotor

"Nothing, indeed, is more dangerous to the young artist than any conception of ideal beauty: he is constantly led by it either into weak prettiness or lifeless abstraction: whereas to touch the ideal at all, you must not strip it of vitality." - Oscar Wilde

"It is only after years of preparation that the young artist should touch color - not color used descriptively, that is, but as a means of personal expression." - Henri Matisse

Drawing Theme: "Save Our Birds"

 "Save Our Birds"

Dr Abe V Rotor

Naturalist and Art Instructor

Amihan is here but where are the birds?*- avr

Participants to a drawing workshop pose with their art works at the Living with Nature garden on November 2, 2025 (All Souls Day).  At the background is an enshrined stone bust of national hero Dr Jose Rizal  depicting his four years exile in Dapitan, a remote place in Mindanao. Besides being a doctor, author, linguist, teacher, Rizal was a lover of nature, a biologist who discovered new species of plants and animals. (Jessel Domingo,  Jhun Ronald L Larca, Ana Rose Peleyre, Lydia Mae Peleyre)

They came, the four of them, after mass.

to say Hello, share the blessings of Undas;

at home, there are drawing materials ready,

and soon they they were very busy.

Let's draw some birds before they're gone,

through art people may understand;

real or symbolic, birds are always beautiful,

emanating from fine art and soul.  

“Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a singing bird will come.” 

- Chinese Proverb

 

 

Hornbill or Kalaw, Jay; 

 Lark, Philippine Eagle

"Never give up listening to the sound of birds.” John James Audubon

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* In Rachel Carson's book, Silent Spring, she wrote that if humans continued to use pesticides without limitations, the chemicals would damage the environment. DDT weakened birds' eggshells. If the government didn't set laws to protect the environment, humans would soon experience a "silent spring," without bird noises.~

Faces of the Blue Cloud

 Faces of the Blue Cloud* 

Cirrus like feathers or dandelions in the air,

only then that we know the weather is fair.

Dr Abe V Rotor 

Scene on the way from Batangas to Manila  Circa 2009

It looks like a giant fowl about to roost 

on a tree, its home for the night;

Below is traffic virtually at a standstill,

the night's awake with neon light.

Cumulus cloud grows big with morning updraft, 

 It's a prelude to the coming of the monsoon season, 

Cumulus cloud, too big and tall,

like the Genie or the devil 

After Hiroshima's fatal fall,

Fukushima, Chernobyl.

Thunderstorm often ensues this scene. 

A human figure holding a thunder bolt 

like Thor in mythology;

Wonder who discovered electricity;

the Greeks or technology? 

Late afternoon clouds hover over Metro Vigan, Ilocos Sur 

When we watch long enough the faces of the cloud 

we find  figures of our own making - 

  kind or fearful, familiar or queer, often in shroud

peeping into our inner being.

Flimsy clouds over Sta Maria, Ilocos Sur 

Beyond the clouds is fantasy

a world far from reality;

we seek refuge and freedom

in this make believe kingdom.

 

How high do flying fish fly? 

(Pinterest Internet)

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* The science behind why we see faces in nature - As humans, we're hardwired to discern such recognizable and often meaningful patterns, a psychological phenomenon referred to as pareidolia (pronounced par-i-DOH-lee-a). We see the face of an old man in the knots of a tree, the shape of an animal in the clouds, the man on the moon.
JHU Hub - Johns Hopkins University
https://hub.jhu.edu › winter › pareidolia-faces-in-nature

Fear! You can conquer it through "Art Therapy"

  Fear! You can conquer it through "Art Therapy"

                                           Dr Abe V Rotor

Our children are filled with imaginary fears which their young minds absorb from movies, TV programs, magazines, and now through social media. It could be for lack of guidance, comfort and love, too. These residues of fear must be removed, and the sooner the better, before they develop into phobia and nightmare which may persist in their adult age.

 Art therapy can be integrated in Art Workshops for Children 

Dr Abe V Rotor

Don't let fear persist,

take it out soonest.

Here's one proven way:

art therapy.

An art workshop

is the best avenue;

let the children enjoy,

and draw freely.

Guide them draw

anything in mind;

happy, sad, fearful,

then you know.

From these drawings

I talked to the child,

confided with his parents -

beautiful result!

Children have fears,

no exception,

it's part of growing up

naturally.

Fear conquers,

conquer fear instead;

draw the kapre -

now he is gone.

Draw the cobra

now he is tame;

draw a shadow,

it is your own.

Draw a road

lonely and far;

now draw houses

along the way.

A hospital scene

with friendly doctors,

draw your patient

with a smile.

Rejected, lonely,

draw a round table

with people around,

you and your family. ~

 

You can diagnose your child through his subjects, colors, lines, strokes, his persistence on a certain theme, and his reactions while he is in his artwork. Ordinarily experiences like these are normal. But there are certain indications you may seek professional advice,

This is one way to check the suspected behavior of your child - reactions based on the senses. The two drawings show fear of a imaginary serpent, an influence of such movies as Anaconda (biggest snake in the world). There are many similar causes of fear, among them: Jaws (shark), King Kong (giant gorilla). Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (movie), Travels of Gulliver (novel about giants and dwarfs), Frankenstein (man-made monster), Gabi ng Lagim (Filipino favorite of ghosts and spirits), and many. many more. Let us save our children. (Drawings by Leo Carlo R Rotor in the Grades, ca 1990) ~

The Two Faces of Civilization

The Two Faces of Civilization

“A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself within.”

― Will Durant, The Lives and Opinions of the World's Greatest Philosophers

Dr Abe V Rotor

Lost civilization: Macho Picchio of Peru was spared by its remoteness from

the Spanish conquistadors who plundered the Mayans, Incas and Aztecs.  

Ruins of an ancient city in Syria, now endangered by the present 

civil war in that country.

Human pyramid, a quest for the the highest living pillar in sports 

competitions all over the world.  

Tsunami triggered by a 9.0 earthquake hit Japan one year ago today.  The disaster caused countless lives and billions worth of properties lost.  It caused nuclear meltdown of one of the reactors in Fukushima spreading radiation over a large area. 

Country life on the Cordillera mountain range, part though remote, from the famous Rice Terraces of Banaue, one of the wonders of the world, and UNESCO heritage site. 

“The ultimate test of any civilization

Is not in its inventions and deeds;

But the endurance of Mother Nature

In keeping up with man’s endless needs.”

                                              - AVR, Light in the Woods.

But what is civilization? Can’t civilization hear and heed the groaning of Creation?

• It is civilization that wiped out the American Indians from the Great Plains.
• It is civilization that plundered the Aztecs and Mayas Empires.
• It is civilization that spurred the powerful West to "discover" and colonize the East.
• It was civilization that resulted in the death of millions and the genocide of 6 million Jews during the second world war.
• It was civilization that built the atomic bomb – and dropped it in two cities of an "enemy."
• It is civilization that made a clone animal, Dolly the Sheep, and inevitably man.
• It is civilization that threatens the whale and the Philippine Eagle, and resulted to the extinctions of many species.
• It is civilization that is causing global warming and its untold consequences destroying lives and properties.
• It is civilization that is causing today’s fuel crisis and food shortage, drastic inflation and loss of currency value, the recession of America and consequently the world, ad infinitum.

But it is also civilization that brought us and our society to the highest level of consciousness no known species can parallel. It is civilization that makes the Earth a beautiful place to live in.

• It is civilization that created our great institutions that bind us into a society.
• It is civilization that made the greatest masterpieces in thought and in the arts.
• It is civilization that instills in us pride and dignity in our continuing accomplishments.
• It is civilization that prods us to explore the ocean and space, and knowledge itself.
• It is civilization that treasures knowledge in libraries, archives and multimedia, all ever expanding and mysteriously revealing.

It is civilization that makes nations great - big and small - equally proud of their culture, and contribution to the world.

It is civilization that brings us all towards universal brotherhood and globalization, shrinking the world into a friendly village.

It is civilization that makes heroes and martyrs that always prevail at the end in keeping peace and order here in our only home, The Planet Earth.~

Photos Credit: Internet ~