Neo-Realism: Forest-Scape Paintings

                                                         Neo-Realism 

 Forest-Scape Paintings

Paintings and Verses by 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.”)

At the treetops land and sky meet,

     bridged by a rainbow;

where creatures, big and small seek

     a home with Eden's glow.

Milton wrote a sequel to a treatise,

     redeemed in his blindness,

to regain in a Garden lost - peace,

     love, piety and kindness. 

Loss we are searching for, to this day,

     since the Fall, man's sad fate,

from our ancestors' home to far away,

     roaming beyond Eden's gate.  

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

The edge of a forest is a living wall,

     of trees, lianas, orchids, and all,

that make a list rich, long and full,

     to fill the mind, heart and soul.

   

"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)

True solitude is to be close to Nature

     in meditation and reflection 

of life and living, with little reference 

    to one's own time and vision. 

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

 Flow gently in summer, 

    in habagat, roar and stir, 

bare in the autumn air,

 in amihan, coy and fair.

"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)

Treetops and birds are one,

where earth and heaven

meet in joy and song.

If only humans too, learn

to live together in peace

away from the throng.

"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)

Nature plays hide-and-seek,

with the bold and meek,

all creatures in her care,

camouflaged and bare.

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

Nature's art that we have around,

from visual, touch, to sound;

relaxes us in mind, body and soul,

and guides us to where we're bound.

Were our ancestors living in the primeval woods

happier, heathier, and in genuine unity? 

Woe to us then living in palaces, yet searching

for a home of true peace and harmony?

"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)

No one is an orphan of Nature,

or lost in life and living.

Mother, we call her at any hour,

for help or any yearning. 

"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)