Painting Stories Across the Karmaverse

Helen Norton emerges as a visual storyteller who transforms spaces into living canvases. Her art is not merely painted—it’s conjured, with each brushstroke weaving narratives that transcend the boundaries of traditional hospitality design. Karma Group Chairman John Spence is a huge fan of her work and has commissioned a number of paintings, which now adorn the walls of resorts like Karma Salford Hall and will soon be at Karma Fushi. 

Born in Australia, Norton’s artistic journey is a testament to the power of curiosity and cultural exploration. Her early years were marked by an insatiable wanderlust that became the cornerstone of her creative practice. Trained in both fine arts and anthropology, Norton approaches each canvas as an ethnographer might approach a fascinating cultural landscape – with deep respect, intense observation, and a desire to capture the nuanced essence of human experience.

“My work is about connection,” Norton explains. “Every painting is a conversation—between places, between people, between memories and present moments.” This philosophy has driven her to create art that goes beyond visual representation, instead seeking to translate emotional landscapes into colour, form, and movement.

Karma Group has invited this remarkable narrative artist to breathe life into two distinctly different destinations: the azure horizons of Karma Fushi in the Maldives and the historic corridors of Karma Salford Hall in the Cotswolds. Norton’s distinctive style—a mesmerising blend of figurative and abstract expressions—creates visual poems that capture the essence of place, emotion, and human experience.

Her most recent painting – for Karma Fushi – is entitled The Ark of the Maldives – a playful work featuring a wooden ark jostling with a hyperreal cast of characters and creatures, surrounded by cerulean waters, atolls and sea creatures all depicted in Helen’s unique surreal, satirical style. 

Original art is the soul of immersive travel – it transforms a mere location into a living, breathing narrative. By commissioning Norton, Karma Group elevates the travel experience from observation to profound connection.