Helen Norton

Born in Melbourne in 1961, Helen left home at sixteen and moved around the country working in a variety of unusual and demanding jobs - cook in a roadhouse, rabbit shooter, fox hunter, jillaroo, station cook, shark hunter. Norton settled in Broome in 1985. There she began to paint for the first time since leaving school. Her first solo exhibition was staged at the Broome Regional Art Gallery in 1988.

Norton does not see herself as a decorative artist."I paint to examine, to undo questions and I hope that people who view my work learn from it too. Whatever level they're at, their own life's experiences will tell them how to read my paintings."

Helen Norton has become one of Australia's most well received artists and her work is included in many major private and international collections.