Art & Spirit by Artist, NORA KASTEN

"MACY AT DINING TABLE"

Painting #408 of 1181 Paintings / Oil on Linen (40"x 30")  Completed in July, 1997

"This is my granddaughter and of course I painted this one from a photograph.  I loved painting her and in those days Karl and I were still enjoying living in our home on Lamb Lake, Indiana."

Healing I am whole and well in mind, body, and spirit. Tuesday, November 4, 2014 When electrical equipment malfunctions, I first check to see whether it is plugged in. Similarly, when I experience dysfunction or disease in mind or body, I check whether I am “plugged in” to God. If I have harbored faulty ideas, I let them go. If I have given power to beliefs of disharmony or sickness, I disconnect from those thoughts and reconnect to Truth. Established in right thinking, I allow the light of Truth to heal and transform me. As I experience healing from the inside out, I feel great ease and aliveness. I deeply trust life’s divine and perfect unfolding. No matter where I am in my healing process, I know that perfection and wholeness are my Truth. God is my health and well-being. Your eye is the lamp of your body. If your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light.—Luke 11:34

"Large Bouquet" Oil Painting by Artist, NORA KASTEN

"LARGE BOUQUET"

© Nora Kasten, 2012

Oil on canvas  (48"x36")   June 19, 2012

"This large painting has been on my easel for several weeks now and I'm finally declaring victory, saying "It is done".

In the beginning this canvas was another oil painting that I had completed on March 13, 2010 . . . .  5 months to the day before Karl died.  The painting, "Personal Reverie", never pleased me and I don't think Karl liked it either so it seemed fitting to paint over it.  I covered the painting with Griffin titanium white alkyd paint and let it dry for a few days before starting this new painting.  See the painting "Personal Reverie" below________________

"Personal Reverie"  Oil on canvas  36"x48"   March 13, 2010  /  Destroyed March, 2012

NORAKASTEN WEBSITE

Motor Trip Highlights & The National Museum Of Art by Artist, NORA KASTEN

(iPhone photo)   Renoir at The National Museum of Art, Washington, DC  on  June 9, 2012

     "Today is Saturday, June 16, and my second day to be back home.  Both days I was privileged to take my walk on the Naples beach at the edge of the water and as good as the trip was  . . . .  it is even better to be back home.

       It's been over 20 years since I visited The National Museum of Art in DC and the Philadelphia

Museum of Art, along with several other museums in the Eastern states.  At the time I had been painting for only 5 or 6 years and I was in complete awe of most of the paintings.  My husband, Karl, 

would often ask me on those days what it was that I liked about such and such a painting and I couldn't 

always tell him.  After several days of museum touring, one evening Karl summed up his opinion by saying "I believe if the artist's name was Monet, Degas, Manet, Renoir or any other famous artist's name, the quality of the work was not considered.  Good, bad or mediocre . .  it was In".  I couldn't hear that then but after last week's museum visits, I believe he was right.

      It really doesn't matter what I feel or believe about the art of the past but today I am changed and I was quite disappointed with far too much of the artwork exhibited.  Contemporary artists today such as

Richard Schmid, Dan Gerhartz, David Leffel, CW Mundy and so many others are producing fabulous and excellent works of art that are a joy to view and behold.  My eyes much prefer their works.

The paintings of artists, Barbara Flowers and Joyce Norwood, are also a delight to behold."

NORA KASTEN WEBSITE 

"Bright, Bright Sunshiny Day" Acrylic Painting by Artist NORA KASTEN

"BRIGHT, BRIGHT SUNSHINY DAY"

© Nora Kasten

Acrylic painting on 2" deep gallery wrapped canvas  (32"x 54")    March 10, 2012

"This painting is on a canvas, custom crafted, by the owner of the Art Emporium art supply and framing store here in Naples, FL.  It's hanging on an end wall of the lanai where I actually executed the painting that took me several weeks to even get started.

The title is from a song I was listening to on the radio while driving one day.  Can you hear the upbeat tune with lyrics . . . .  It's a bright, bright  sunshiny day . . . ?  That's what I was experiencing.

When I cleared out so many things in the house after Karl died, I sent all my acrylic paints to the Salvation Army and had to buy new to do this painting.  I'm still finding my way back but believe that I prefer working in oils the best. "

NORA KASTEN WEBSITE

"Fresh Roses" Oil Painting by Artist, NORA KASTEN

"Fresh Roses"

Oil painting on linen on board  (16"x20")

"This painting is hanging in a guest bathroom that I intend to let go with my home / when and if it sells.  The beautiful black gallery wall is gone and restored to it's original color.  The house and garage are cleared of the things I am keeping except for clothes and personal items.  One wall in the garage is lined with paintings and frames that I want to keep.  The big Hughes easel will be gone by next week.  Here is a link to the multiple listing and virtual tour of my home.


Before returning home from the recent trip, I was able to visit with all four of my sons and with many of my Indiana friends.  While in Plainfield, Indiana, I looked at some condos with the thought of maybe buying one.  I'm so unsure of what to do now that probably renting would be a better option for me.  It's for certain that I won't do anything until "I have the I know that I know" from my Inner Presence. 


Being away from here for a while was good but the loneliness and sadness still eat away at me.  I talked to a counselor yesterday who says this will not continue and to expect good things to happen gradually that will ease this suffering.  He says  "Be kind to yourself during this time and if you can't paint, just don't do it.  If there is no joy in painting now, why are you forcing yourself?  You'll know when and if it's time.  Seek, look into and try new things." . . .  .  Actually, nothing really seems to mean anything to me now.


Last Friday I canceled out of The Sheldon Fine Art Gallery here in Naples and brought home five paintings.  They still have six of my paintings and I intend to have them back soon.  I plan to take one or two paintings to the Brown County, IN gallery the first of September but I need to be free of painting obligations right now.  It surprises me because I always thought that I would paint up to the end. 


My Beloved Karl is gone eleven months and thirteen days today.  Will after a year gone by be the time of healing?  I'm so thankful for the years we had together and yet it's so hard, still, to go on without him."

NORA KASTEN WEBSITE

"Sweet Dreams" Oil Painting by Artist, NORA KASTEN

"Sweet Dreams"

Oil painting on linen  (30"x40") From the archives

"This painting was done from a photo of my granddaughter, Macy, when she was nine years old.  She will be nineteen in August.  Macy was asleep on our overstuffed living room sofa, not this brass bed.  She did have bangs but her hair is brown and straight.  The only thing true to the photo was my favorite orange afghan."

"After reading Bill Whalberg's blog a while ago, http://billspaintingmn.blogspot.com, I am inspired to write also.  My Beloved Karl died August 13, 2010 and it's been ten and a half months.  Concentrating is still hard and makes painting difficult.  For several weeks now, I have been eliminating everything superfluous in this house and in my life.  I'm obsessed with giving away, throwing away and have made umpteen trips to the Salvation Army drop-off.  Last Friday, I listed the house for sale.  It certainly isn't the best time to sell but it's time to be pro-active in getting through this season of grief.  Now that I've decided to sell the house, I wonder if that was the reason I was (and still am) so overwhelmingly obsessed with the clearing out of so many things.  My Inner Spirit assures me I am doing the right thing but the sadness persists.  I have to force myself many times not to think of my Beloved Karl because the tears are still so close to the surface.

Writing down some things helps and one thing (along with many others) that came to mind was "I must fully accept, mentally and emotionally, that Karl cannot be with me and I will be at peace with that.  Others have come through aching grief and sadness . . . .   I will too."  

It's shameful to me that I am still not functioning emotionally very well."

NORA KASTEN WEBSITE

"A Grand Bouquet" Oil Painting by Artist, NORA KASTEN

 "A Grand Bouquet"

© Nora Kasten

Oil Painting on linen on board  (30"x30")  From archives

"This is one of five paintings I'm offering to "An Evening of the Arts" being held at Naples Baptist Church on Thursday, April 14, 2011.  It is a lovely painting but somehow I couldn't get a good photo."

Below is a page from "Healing After Loss" by Martha Whitmore Hickman

"Dying is a wild night and a new road."  -  Emily Dickinson

      "One of the things so astonishing and costly about losing a loved one is that, while the sun continues to rise and set, newspapers continue to be delivered, traffic lights still change from red to green and back again, our whole life is turned around, turned upside down.

      Is it any wonder we feel disoriented, confused?  Yet the people we pass on the street are going about their business as though the earth has not opened and swallowed us up, dropped us into a world of insecurity and change.

      It is, as Emily Dickinson says, "a new road" - for us as surely as for the one we have lost.  It will take us time to learn to walk that road.  Time, and a lot of help, so we don't stumble and fall irretrievably.  Those who have had their own experiences of loss will probably be our most helpful guides - knowing when to say the right word, when to be silent and walk beside us, when to reach out and take our hand.  In time, we  will be helpers for others."

Today's Affirmation

      "I have entered a new country.  I will be patient with myself.  I will look for companions of the way."

      NORA KASTEN WEBSITE

"Mixed Roses" Oil Painting by Artist, Nora Kasten

"Mixed Roses"

Oil painting on linen on board  (15"x30")  From the archives, 2010

"I skipped the grief support group last night and believe it was the right thing to do.  The first thing to come to mind this morning was that it's time now for me to maybe do some volunteering or find a place that I can be of help to others again.  I'm reminded of the scripture "To whom much is given, much is required".   My dear Karl is no longer with me but he enriched my life so very much for a good number of years and I'm eager to share my blessings.

Then, later this morning I received an e-mail from friend and great artist, Joyce Norwood, asking me to participate with her and other artists in a large Art Show & Fundraiser for a Baptist church here in Naples.  It will be Thursday, April 14, 2011 and I am so glad to have this opportunity to share some of my blessings.

Last Sunday I delivered the painting "Fresh Cut Roses" to The Sheldon Fine Art Gallery here in Naples.  It was the first painting delivered to them since many months before Karl died and how I hope it sells.  The good people at Sheldon Fine Art have been very patient with me through this season of grief."

NORA KASTEN WEBSITE

"The Haircut" Oil Painting by Artist, NORA KASTEN

"The Haircut"

Self Portrait, oil painting on linen  (16"x20")  May 13, 2010

"This was painted three months to the day that my beloved Karl died.  It was a bitter-sweet time, knowing our time together was short.

Last night, I attended my second grief support group meeting and unlike last week it was not uplifting.  Karl's death has left me with a raw, open. gaping wound and I do everything possible to help myself heal and yet there has been no guilt, anger or fear since he died as most of the group last night is dealing with.  Karl and I both knew how precious our relationship was and we were mature enough that our twenty eight years together were never taken for granted or treating each other unkindly.  

I'll be seventy-four years old next month and yet I'm feeling like a young school girl who has lost the first love of her life and thinks she will never recover. . . .  I know that I will recover though because God says it is so."

NORA KASTEN WEBSITE

"Fresh Cut Roses" Oil Painting by Artist, NORA KASTEN

"Fresh Cut Roses"

© Nora Kasten

Oil painting on oil primed linen on board  (12"x24")  March 13, 2011

"About six weeks ago I bought a rosebush at Home Depot because it had one red-orange rose blooming that I really liked.  I brought it home, planted it in the front yard and it didn't die.  It just didn't do anything until last Friday and I noticed these beautiful roses blooming.  I was painting a self portrait that day but the next morning, Saturday, I went out early and cut all the roses for this bouquet.  Blocking in was all I could accomplish yesterday morning because good friends from Freeport and Rockport, Illinois were coming to visit.  This morning, when I walked into the studio, all the roses had opened up completely (spotlights are hard on fresh flowers) so I started painting away.  It's signed and under a fan out in the garage now, drying.  It's the best I could do and it feels good to be painting again.

Today, my beloved Karl is gone seven months."

NORA KASTEN WEBSITE

NORA KASTEN Artist Oil Painting "Floral & Teapot"

First day's work on "Floral & Teapot"

36"x24" On oval, oil primed linen on 1/2"board

 Setup for "Floral & Teapot

"It's a joy to be painting again and this one is for a special place in my home.  I already have the ornate antique gold frame for it but must get those flowers completed today because they're wilting fast.

Tomorrow is Valentines Day and it is with Great Love that I remember Karl and my first Valentines Day together, twenty eight years ago.  He was against the whole Valentines Day thing, saying "It's just a holiday for increasing merchants revenues". . . . .  Karl was always thinking business.  Well, when he learned how unhappy I would be if no valentine arrived, he came home from the office that day with beautiful roses and a Valentine card 36" high, 18" wide and the biggest boyish grin on his face.  How I Loved that man!!


This morning while reading Diane Leonard's blog, I really enjoyed her writing  on LOVE .
She wrote it for Valentine's Day and I hope you will check it out for yourself.
http://dianeleonardartist.blogspot.com
The words below are Diane's and not all of her message but I agree wholeheartedly.

   " Love opens the door to discover our highest potential!

   It let’s our hearts soar and brings us joy.

   Love is all around us -- it is the beauty that we see in our world

Love is what drives us to be our best, 

and to see the best in everyone!

Love is the power to be whatever we want to be.

 Find love in all that you do, in all that you see, 

and share that love with everyone around you."


NORA KASTEN WEBSITE  

NORA KASTEN Artist Oil Painting " Nora At Sixty-One"

"Nora At Sixty-One"

© Nora Kasten

Oil painting on linen  (24" x 20") From the 1998 archives

"Here is the painting, hung high on the far end of my office wall.   It was there also when my Beloved Karl occupied this office but recently I've changed the decor.  It's necessary now that I create "my space".  I must tell you though that it is a joy to be here in this room as well as the whole house that we shared and were so happy together.  It's a good feeling to touch and handle the papers along with the instructional notes that he left for me, knowing his hands were on them.

Purposely, living in the present moment and listening to the inner voice all through the day is very rewarding and Goodness is coming to me in ways I could never have imagined.  The other day I felt led to take a short walk in my neighborhood (I seldom do this) and while I was walking the mailman came along.  We've only waved to each other in years past and one time he called out to me from his car while I was painting roses in the front yard.  Well, he recognized me and pulled up to the curb to ask how Karl and I were doing.  I know it was a good day for me and I certainly wasn't feeling down but when I had to tell him Karl had died, the tears began so I just waved good-by and started to walk away.  The next thing that happened almost put me in shock.  He parked the mail car, turned it off, got out, came onto the sidewalk and gave me a hug with tears in his eyes.  Since the tears were rolling down my face by now I couldn't really say much but it didn't matter.  The mailman had the perfect words for me at the perfect time, even giving me the perfect solution to something I had been pondering about and he couldn't have known.

The next day I put the red bar out on my mailbox and placed a one line note, thanking my mailman.  When I got the mail later that day, here is the note I found.   We can believe that we really don't know another person but the fact is that we are all in this together.

The days are still filled with loving thoughts of my Karl and I continue the best I know how to live this life without him.  His presence always gave me strength and peace and It still does . . . . .  I wish he could help me with these tears."

NORA KASTEN WEBSITE

NORA KASTEN Artist Oil Painting "Roses & Melon"

"Roses & Melon"

© Nora Kasten

Oil painting on linen  (40" 30")  From the 2005 archives... Photo is way off in color

Karl died five months ago, today.

"This morning while having coffee by the fireplace (yes, a fireplace in Naples, Florida), I was actually enjoying viewing this painting.  It's framed in a large ornate frame and I just recently hung it on the family room wall.  When I painted "Roses & Melon" in 2005 I knew it wasn't good enough to market but saved it anyway.  It amazes me how we appreciate something on any one day and then another day brings different things or ideas that we appreciate.  When I use the word "appreciate", I mean it as "to go up in value" . . . . like we want our stocks and bonds to do, right!

The book that I'm reading now "The Presence Process" is coming to a close but I'm sure to be reading it again and again.  Here is a sentence that I high-lighted this morning:  We discover the capacity of Presence - a Presence we all share, everywhere , in each moment, that's able to bring us exactly what's required, whenever it's required. "  I discovered this many years ago and am still experiencing this same miracle that is meant for us all today too."

NORA KASTEN WEBSITE

NORA KASTEN Artist Oil Painting "Morning"

"Morning"

© Nora Kasten

Oil painting on linen  (36"x 48") From the archives, 2001

On Sunday morning, Dec. 12, 2010, I was taking my time getting out of bed,  just laying there and enjoying the beautiful master bedroom suite.  Out of nowhere the idea came to me that the master bath area too would look beautiful in that same deep carmel color.  A long story short - by 10 o'clock that night I had the first coat of paint on those walls and put the second coat on early Monday morning.  I had a gallon left over from painting the bedroom walls 7 years ago.  So, I went back to Home Depot and got another gallon mixed with the same formula.  The paint is Behr Premium Plus and I can highly recommend it.

The reason I'm sharing this with you is because that Sunday morning was the first time since Karl died (four months) that I actually felt happy and enthused about anything.  The ideas just kept coming and I enjoyed painting the walls myself.  It's surprising that interior design was the spark that put light back into my life again and not fine art.  Before Karl was in my life I was working in interior design . . . . though we were called decorators in those days.  Even as a little girl I can remember marking out my rooms with a stick in the dirt and using small crates and boxes for my furniture.

Well, as I said, the ideas just kept coming and now my home gallery wall is BLACK.  Don't gag.  It's beautiful! . . . .  . at least I'm very happy with it.  I was leaning toward a deep cranberry color but glancing at the tall black moire drapes in the dining room that puddle at the floor and the black border around the dining room rug I knew black would be the right choice.  Getting good photos for this project is tough because of the spot lighting on the paintings.  Trust me, it looks great.

On a closing note I would like to share with you that I'm continuing to let the Inner Voice lead me.  An idea about painting keeps coming to mind and even things are falling into place quite naturally for the next chapter of my painting career to take place.  I need to keep a lid on the ideas for now and let them build up steam on their own.  If the work is meant to be, it will take place for sure.  Tonight I am filled with such gratitude, God's Love and thankfulness."

NORA KASTEN WEBSITE

NORA KASTEN Artist Oil Painting "25th Anniversary Roses"

"25th Anniversary Roses"

© Nora Kasten

Oil painting on canvas  (40" x 30")

"Karl and I met 28 years ago tonight and it was a Friday, the same as today.  December 3, 1982 is a most important and memorable date to me, even more than our wedding anniversary.  I was so thankful for the GOOD man God brought into my life.  I had prayed for many months before asking God for this Good man.  Stars and rockets didn't explode, I was 45 and Karl was 51, but it was like an invisible magnet that just drew us to one another.  If there are soul mates, Karl and I were that and happy for all the years we had together.  

Karl ordered the huge bouquet of 25 roses, that I painted above, for me last year for our 25th wedding anniversary, October 13, 2009.  It was a wonderful surprise!  Because it was so hard for Karl to even speak a sentence then, I had no idea he had managed to call a local florist and to let them know his wishes.   Our good friends, Web and Troy Gaskin brought champagne over to celebrate with us and Karl even took a sip or two.  He had not been able to drink since July, 2002 when he'd had heart surgery. 

Tonight, it feels good to think and write about my beloved.  I am so filled with gratitude and thankfulness.

NORA KASTEN WEBSITE

NORA KASTEN Artist Oil Painting "One For Lunch"

"One For Lunch"

© Nora Kasten

Oil painting on linen  (16" x 16") From the archives  SOLD

"Yesterday marked three months since Karl is gone.

"One For Lunch" pretty much says it all for today but this work was painted in 1991 when life was wonderful.  The crossword puzzle is something I've stopped doing since Karl died.  They make me sad now and I guess it's because we enjoyed doing them together for so many years.  The last three years Karl was doing the Sudoku number puzzle too but I never started."

NORA KASTEN WEBSITE

PS:  I just viewed a short video on Don Hatfield's site that I know you all will enjoy.

NORA KASTEN Artist Oil Painting "Karl Kasten"

"KARL KASTEN"

© Nora Kasten

Oil on linen  (40" x 30")

"Today's blog is to share with others who are suffering loss too at this time.

Since being back home (and it's a good place) from The Journey I realize my blog projects a much more recovered Nora than the truth.  

It amazes me how many of my friends and family remark about what a Great time I had on my trip and how strong I am.   They don't have a clue!

Yes, it is very slowly getting better but not easy to just function every day.  The tears easily erupt at any time.  I still feel like I'm just marking time and going through the motions of life.   My intellect knows I must accept the fact that Karl is gone and will never return. . . .  but my heart still pines and yearns for my Beloved. " 

NORA KASTEN WEBSITE

NORA KASTEN Artist Oil Painting "A Small Bouquet" / THE JOURNEY, Day 36

"A Small Bouquet"

© Nora Kasten

Oil painting on textured canvas  (8" x 12")  From the archives

"Day 36 of The Journey and I'm back in Florida tonight.  I forgot to check the odometer but will have the final reading tomorrow evening.  My son, Jason, his wife, Tish, and me enjoyed a good dinner together this evening and I'll be leaving after lunch tomorrow.

It will be so good to get back home again.  After staying in so many hotel rooms over the last five weeks I certainly appreciate my home even more.  No, I know that Karl is not there but his spirit is always with me.  He provided such a wonderful place for us and if I can't have him with me any longer, at least I can still enjoy being in the home where we were so happy together."

NORA KASTEN WEBSITE

NORA KASTEN Artist Oil Painting "Tangelo" / THE JOURNEY, Day 35

"Tangelo"

© Nora Kasten

Oil painting on linen  (24" x 20")  From the archives  SOLD

"Day 35 of The Journey and a very good visit with my son, John, and his family here in Cumming, Georgia.

On my way back to the hotel this evening I bought yarn and knitting needles.  It's a whim but I'm going to knit again after many years.  I'm listening but don't have an answer yet as to what I'm suppose to do now that Karl's no longer with me?"

NORA KASTEN WEBSITE

NORA KASTEN Artist Oil Painting "Blue Hydrangea" / THE JOURNEY, Day 19

"Blue Hydrangea"

© Nora Kasten

Oil painting on gallery wrapped canvas  (30" x 36")  From the archives.  There are so many things wrong in this painting but I still can't trash it.  It's hung in my gallery at home and hopefully the Good Fairies are working on it while I'm gone.

"Day 19 of The Journey and I'm in Gloucester, MA tonight, on the first floor, looking directly out at the beach and ocean.  Karl is gone eight weeks now.

Walking around in Rockport, MA this afternoon was much like it was when Karl and I were here 15 years ago . . .  only the town is at least four times larger.  Does it surprise you that I was much more drawn to the abstract, contemporary artwork?  It does me.  I have a ticket for The Metropolitan Opera Simulcast, Das Rheingold at Rockport's Shalin Liu Performance Center tomorrow afternoon.  I'm really looking forward to it.

I want to wrap this up and go out for dinner . . . .  I'm tired of lobster and clam chowder.

NORA KASTEN WEBSITE