Merriam-Webster defines frame of reference as a set of ideas, conditions, or assumptions that determine how something will be approached, perceived, or understood. In artist Paul Norwood’s world of evocative landscapes and figures, his points of reference encourage the re-examination of everything we assume we already know.

Though Norwood considers himself an abstract painter, he says his paintings are actually a reflection of his reality. He grew up in a small Maine fishing village, the son of a working lobsterman. At age nine, when his older brother won $50 in a local art contest, Norwood recalls, “I decided then and there that I’d rather paint the sea than fish from it.” He got hold of a few brushes and tubes of paint, and found inspiration in the ocean and river, the rocks and sand, the local characters and simple cottages of his home town.

When it came time for college, Norwood reasoned that commercial art would be a more sensible path than being a starving artist, so he enrolled in the acclaimed advertising program at Syracuse University. His art direction and design training served him well over the years; not only did it pave the way for a successful career in advertising, which culminated in selling his firm and becoming a full-time painter, it also influenced how he makes art today.

Norwood’s foundational understanding of how to communicate visually across genres comes through in the graphic nature of his work. At the same time, he’s constantly striving to distill his compositions, to represent form with fewer brush strokes and a simpler palette, and to rely on the mind’s eye to complete the work. This simplicity allows him to explore the energy and dynamism of paint application and color gradations.

As popular as Norwood’s figurative paintings of the quintessential Vineyard summer have become, it is in his abstract landscapes where the painter says he truly achieves a state of flow. “I try to trust the process,” he shares, “If I think too hard about what a piece is going to look like when it’s done, I often mess it up on the first round. But if I just focus on the mark-making, on the palette and how one stroke relates to the next, at the end I usually have something I’m pretty happy with.”

Norwood’s marks are one of the most powerful elements of his work. Not relying on subtlety, he leans into his process, loading up his brush or palette knife heavy with acrylic paint and, working in the spirit of impasto, building a scene through the interplay between his marks. Perhaps due to the unbridled movement as he creates, perhaps due to the breathtaking scenes that serve as the model for his art, Norwood’s compositions exude a fearless joy that is hard to ignore.

For Norwood, that joy comes from having the opportunity to paint in beautiful places for more than 25 years—splitting his time between San Francisco’s Bay Area and Martha’s Vineyard. Over the years, he has spent countless hours in the studio with his kids, working side by side with them on landscapes, portraits and still lifes. Now young adults, both have taken their visual art training, as well as their natural talent, to college with them to pursue creative studies. “Through teaching my kids, I’ve learned so much about my own style and process. I’m continually telling them to make their mark, just go for it, don’t think. And actually, I find it’s a pretty good metaphor for life, don’t you think?” 

Paul Norwood’s paintings can be found at Eisenhauer Gallery in Edgartown, eisenhauergallery.com.