World Rainforest Day,: The Rainforest and the Garden of Eden in Paintings in 8 Parts

 The Rainforest and the Garden of Eden 

in Paintings

World Rainforest Day, June 22, 2024

Founded in 2017 by Rainforest Partnership, World Rainforest Day (June 22) celebrates the importance of healthy, standing rainforests for climate, biodiversity, culture, and livelihoods— and convenes a global movement to protect and restore them. Ending deforestation requires unrelenting, unified action. 

Mural and Canvas Paintings by Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature avrotor.blogspot.com

                        

   Part 1 - A Little Corner of Eden

 "Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained – is undoubtedly 

one that resembles a tropical rainforest." - avr

Dr Abe V Rotor

A Little Corner of Eden in acrylic, painted by Dr Abe V. Rotor (30" x 40") for the (Philippine College of Physicians) PCP Foundation Inc, founder and guardian of Dr. Arturo B. Rotor Memorial Awards for Literature.

"Nature represents the idea of the entire universe in a state of perfection. Nature is one; it unites heaven and earth, connecting human beings with the stars and bringing them all together into a single family. Nature is beautiful; it is ordered. A divine law determines its arrangement - the subordination of the means to the end, and the parts to the whole. 

"I chose the tropical rainforest scenery since it is the richest of all ecosystems in the world. The Philippines, being one of the countries endowed with this natural wealth is indeed an ecological haven. For this reason, I believe that, the tropical rainforest closely resembles the description of the biblical paradise. It is not only a living bank of diversity; it is the most important sanctuary of living matters on earth." - AV Rotor, The Living with Nature Handbook

 

"Birds sing not only for their own kind,

     but to the world that shares their joy,

in melodies notes may not capture,

     but the heart and spirit they buoy." -avr

"No one tires with the rhythm of nature – the tides, waves, flowing rivulets, gusts of wind, bird songs, the fiddling of crickets, and the shrill of cicada. In the recesses of a happy mind, one could hear the earth waking up in spring, laughing in summer, yawning in autumn and snoring in winter – and waking up again the next year, and so on, ad infinitum." - AV Rotor, Listen to the Music of Nature!

                              The Forest - Living World in Microcosm

“To see a world in a grain of sand,

     And heaven in a wild flower;

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,

     And Eternity in an hour.”

                        - William Blake, Auguries of Innocence

"This verse captures the essence of the title, The Forest - Living World in Microcosm. It condenses the universe into its elemental symbols from which we take a full view of the world we live in. It reduces the complexities and vastness of both non- living and the living world into a microcosm that is complete in itself- a plantilla of creation all contained in the hand and experienced within a lifetime." - AV Rotor, Living World in Microcosm

 

Cryptobiology and Augury

"Call cryptobiology a pseudoscience, but it is gaining acceptance and support from scholars and people in general, with the discovery of strange creatures like the Coelacanth and Kraken. The ancient Roman religion interpreted omens from the observed behavior of birds. A white dove means “peace”. A black dove means “war”. It could also pertain to matters of the heart, relationships, luck, misfortune, death, Remember the emissary bird in the biblical Noah's Ark?  With the breakthrough in cybercommunication, it is evident that soon we will be communicating with Nature more directly, over and above fantasy and imagination, which leads us to the idea of conscientization, in the pursuit of values, truth and the ideal in protecting Nature from the hands of man himself." - AV Rotor, Cryptobiology and Conscientization

 

 

A pair of lovely parrots perched up high,

higher than the flight of butterfly;

aimlessly below many a passerby

just let the world go with a sigh.

 

It is estimated that more than half the species of plants, animals and protists live in the tropical rainforests. Imagine a single tree as natural abode of ferns, orchids, insects, fungi, lichens, transient organisms - birds, monkeys, frogs, reptiles, insects and a multitude more that escape detection by our senses. 

  

Orchids, Family Orchidaceae, is one of the two largest families of flowering plants, with about 28,000 species, and with more constantly discovered. Orchids make up 6 to 11 percent of all species of seed plants, and are the most advanced in the Plant Kingdom, occupying the top position in the phylogeny and evolution of plants. 

Orchids:

white, delicate, immaculate, pure;

red, flaming, romantic, demure;

Orchids:

flowing, silky, translucent, queenly;

fiery, ascendant, stout, kingly.

Orchids:

endearing, fancy, coy, culpable;

ephemeral, magical, lovable.

* Verse and drawing in pastel by Anna Christina, author's daughter, an enthusiast in the arts, assisted in conducting summer art workshops for children during her student days. Cattleya, Dendrobium and Vanda are native orchids in the Philippines. These are representative images of Vanda and its variants, including Vanda merrillii var. rotorii, named after Dr Arturo B Rotor in his honor as an orchid hobbyist.

 

"Today, rather than defending himself against nature, 

man realized, he needed to defend nature against himself."

 - AV Rotor, Light from the Old Arch

Forest: Man's First home, Genesis' Final View

Richest in flora and fauna of all biomes,

     Big and small, in a common union,

Arranged in niches, divided by storeys,

     In competition and cooperation.

Heritage trees rise through the canopy,

     Living towers of the forest;

Divine columns of Nature's Parthenon,

     Cradle of harmony and rest.

Stories about the forest, queer but true,

     Seat of evolution, of biodiversity,

Ultimate of adventure, science laboratory,

     Man's first home, Genesis' final view.

Message of the Painting, A Little Corner of Eden 

"Quite often, images of nature enrapture us. These are reminiscences of childhood, a re-creation of a favorite spot we may have visited or seen, or products of the imagination greatly influenced by society we live in.

But the painting reflects a deep-seated biological longing to be part of nature. Putting it in the biblical sense, it is a natural searching for the lost paradise. The scenery represents a refuge from city living, a respite, and an escape from the daily grind.

But the scenery does not only tell us of what we are missing.  Rather, it reminds us of  what we are going to miss, perhaps forever, if we do not heed nature's signal towards a fast declining ecosystem.  If we do not change our way of life from too much dependence on consumerism, to one more closely linked to conservation of nature, we may end up building memories and future archives of a lost world. " - AV Rotor

          A Little Corner of Eden

If I were to return after the Fall

To where my forebears once lived;

If I were to trace back their footsteps

To their world of make believe.

What would I tell to my dear Creator

Whose open arms have waited so long

For man to return, to repent for his Sin -

And I, having also failed all along?

I would tell Him there is also a place,

A little green corner of grass and trees,

Of bees and flowers, rainbow and butterflies,

Where birds come and sing with the breeze.

An emerald river gently flowing,

Meandering between hills and on the plain,

Palms and trees bowing at its levees,

Its waters soothing the day's pain.

I would tell Him of this place also forgotten,

Abandoned by a bandwagon,

By those who nurture the Utopian dream,

Now orphaned and virtually alone.

Is forgetfulness also Your tool of creation

Where man shall be gone from here on?

Paradise is redeemed and once more born?

No wonder Nature triumphs when left alone.~

Part 2 - Piece of Eden and Peace of Mind

                                   Dr Abe V Rotor

A Piece of Eden in acrylic, painting by the author on canvas 30" x 48" 2021  

Like Pangea breaking up into seven continents through eons of time and evolution; the famed Paradise too, broke into fragments since the seventh day of creation.

So, in all corners of the earth, lay pieces of Eden strewn in forests, valleys and seas; and man too, made his own version of that Utopia, creating, modifying as he sees.

Beauty is at its best in the arts, in all facets of life, resort, park, garden as he pleases, striving for originality, balance and harmony, aware of these elements in the process.

Abstract, man calls things he barely understands in hurried visions, li'l of analysis; yet a piece of Eden brings sanctity and peace of mind, and reverence to Him that shall never cease. ~

   

Details of painting in three sections showing perspective and composition. 

Details of painting for analysis and critiquing. 

Part 3 - A Piece of the Garden of Eden

Mural by Dr Abe V Rotor

“Those ancients who in poetry presented

the golden age, who sang its happy state,

perhaps, in their Parnassus, dreamt this place.

Here, mankind's root was innocent; and here

were every fruit and never-ending spring;

these streams--the nectar of which poets sing.”

― Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy

         A Piece of the Garden of Eden (8ft x 16ft) Painting by AVRotor

Does the Garden of Eden still exist? If the Garden of Eden still exists, no one knows where. The Bible says a river ran from Eden and separated into four rivers: Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates. Here is an artist's concept of a little corner of that garden. ~  

Part 4 -   A Piece of Eden on a Wall

"Oh! If only man's wisdom can bring back Paradise lost a long time ago." - avr 

Wall Mural by Dr Abe V Rotor

 

Kim Laurence and Sophia pose before a wall mural painted by the author 

at his family residence in Lagro QC

A wall is empty no more, it dissolves into forest and stream 

running down soft under the feet, spilling onto the street;

where once a city of steel and concrete, of dust and smog   

reigned, where the forces of human frailty and nature meet,

rekindling wonders and adventures of childhood little known

to the city-bred whom the Good Life in disguise would cheat!  

     

The wall is alive in three dimensions in make-believe perspective,

progeny of primary colors - red, blue and yellow, bold and mellow,

azure sky, deep blue-green sea, prism of every dewdrop bead,

sparkle of every star at night, crystalline water Narcissus saw; 

if only walls can speak to mirror human longing of a happy world,

if only man's wisdom can bring back Paradise lost a long time ago!

      Part 5 - Nature's Unity and Harmony 

Childhood with Nature Lives On, acrylic painting by AV Rotor, 2024.

Painting with accompanying poem is donated to Pudoc Elementary 

School, compliments of the Dr AV Rotor and Family* 

 

 

Closeup views showing Nature's unity and harmony with children.

Childhood with Nature Lives On

To us grownups in our golden years reminisce

this childhood scene beautiful, young and fresh,

for we have kept Nature deep in our hearts,

her pristine beauty we nurtured to our best.

The trees now heritage for three generations,

from seeds we sowed now high rise in the sky,

singing with the breeze and birds in their nests,

sweetly taking care of their young 'til they fly.

They come back the next season, now a flock,

year after year in the same scene and order,

searching for their friends once in their prime,

but they've grown up, and are no longer there.

We wonder where have all the children now,

and where is this place once called Paradise?

Like us they followed the stream to the sea,

in search of the Good Life's grandeur and prize.

They too, shall listen to Mother Nature calling,

like birds migrating from afar returning

before the sun sets, its rays golden in the sky;

childhood lives on, listen to the trees singing. ~

* Through the kindness of the teachers and parents who accompanied the schoolchildren in a study tour at the Living with Nature Center, February 10, 2024. 

Part 6 - Convergence in Nature 

“Trees give peace to the souls of men.” - Nora Waln

Paintings by Dr Abe V Rotor

Convergence in acrylic by the author 2022

Tree of Liberty in acrylic by the author

"All I need to do is to climb a tree,

   and all the world knows I'm free." avr

“You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life.” - Rumi

 

"White doves, emissaries of peace;

         Trees, living monuments of peace." avr

 Convergence in Nature, detail of painting by AV Rotor 2017

To see the world in every living tree,

And Heaven in dawn’s solemnity; 

Hold infinity in birds flying free

    And eternity in peace and harmony. ~

                                                 Adapted from William Blake’s Auguries of Innocence

"The universe is a single atom: the convergence 

of science and spirituality." — Dalai Lama 

Part 7 - Tranquility in the Rainforest 

"Tranquility merges peace and quiet, unity and harmony." - avr

 

Tranquility in acrylic (30"x48") AV Rotor 2024

*The word tranquility dates to the 12th century in the Old French word tranquilite, 

meaning "peace" or "happiness". ~ 

 

Details: Migratory birds follow the morning sun, 

while two young fishermen pull their catch.

Tranquility is a sense of peace and quiet, 

     sitting by a waterfall gently hissing,

all around a wholesome and lovely sight, 

     following the morning sun rising. 

Listen to the crickets and passing breeze, 

     in a calm world sans haste and strife,

commotion and tumult, cares and worries;

     serene, placid - truly a tranquil life.

Tranquility merges unity and harmony, 

     more than a person's inner calmness,

Peace resolves conflicts as tranquility  

     brings in true joy and gladness.

 

Somewhere between the valleys and mountains,

caves and cliffs, streams and rivers;

man craves for something beyond his Being,

        in verses and songs - and prayers.  - avr  

  

 

Wonder how birds in the sky see us down,

how minuscule we are, like their kind;

wonder how we look at them in the blue sky,

worlds apart we say yet we are one.  -avr

 “The bird who dares to fall is the bird who learns to fly.” - D. W. Journals

Part 8 

Convergence in Nature

Meditation

Painting and Verse by Abe V Rotor

                

                    Convergence in Nature, (30" x 70") AVR 2012

One may find where land, water and sky meet:

• peace and turbulence,
• light and darkness,
• order and chaos,
• love and hate,
• joy and sorrow,
• hope and despair,
• life and death.

Another may find where land, water and heaven meet:

• turbulence and peace,
• darkness and light
• chaos and order,
• hate and love,
• sorrow and joy,
• despair and hope,
• death and new life. ~

Painting: Courtesy of Dr Rene and Marilyn Makilan, USA, on the occasion of their visit with Shekinah, and Ronnie Rotor, to the Philippines, 2012.

Part 9

Philippine Rainforest Profile  

Mural on Canvas by Dr Abe V Rotor

Composite mural paintings of a tropical forest in acrylic by AV Rotor.

Courtesy of San Vicente Pasalubong Center, San Vicente Ilocos Sur