Norman Winslow Blackwell was born in Greensboro, North Carolina on December 9, 1933. He was the third child of Roy Ellison Blackwell (l898 - l973) from Oliver, Georgia, and Ruby Lena Cail (l900 - l988) from Rocky Ford, Georgia. He had one brother, Roy Edward Blackwell (l92l - l970) and a sister, Regina Elayne Blackwell Parrish (1931-2007).

Norman Blackwell was raised in the historic city of Savannah, Georgia where, at the age of 5, he began to draw and demonstrate an interest in all art forms. He attended public schools in Savannah, and while attending Savannah High School, studied for three years with Savannah's legendary art teacher, Margaret Augusta Murphy. "Miss Margaret", as she was called by her students, instilled self-discipline, encouraging him to develop as an artist. This, his first experience, would become a lifetime passion.

Margaret Murphy, an exceptional art instructor, gave him a piece of advice, "If you are a good artist, don't hesitate to say so when you are asked about your artistic ability. If you do not feel you are a good artist, change the subject, and keep studying and painting until you become one."

Blackwell also studied under Margaret Murphy's brother, Christopher Aristide Desbouillons Murphy ( l902 - l973), another prominent Savannah artist. Murphy, one of the founders of the Association of Georgia Artists, exhibited in the Whitney Museum (New York), the Victoria and Albert Museum (London), and is in the permanent collection of the Morris Museum of Art.

At age l4, Blackwell had his first schooled art lessons, studying under Emil Holzauer, Professor of Art at Wesleyan College, also teaching at the Telfair Museum of Art in Savannah. Holzauer's intense instruction motivated him to continue his art studies. In 1950, on graduating from Savannah High School, he enrolled in Armstrong Atlantic State University, also in Savannah. He then attended UCLA, where, upon the recommendation of his instructors, he transferred to the more noted art department in the University of Georgia at Athens (l952). At Georgia he majored in Advertising Design and was taught by Lamar (William) Dodd (1909 - 1996), the State's most recognized artist of the mid to late 20th century, Buckminster Fuller (l895 - l983), Charles Eames (1907 - l978), Vincent Dieball, Sibyl Browne, Robert Pfister, and Wiley Sanderson. This period was noted for his development in oils, watercolor, and alkyds (becoming his favorite medium). He was graduated from the University of Georgia in 1956, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree (1956).

While attending, he was Editor of the University of Georgia Yearbook, The Pandora, and executed all of the original drawings in that edition. These drawings now hang in the University of Georgia Museum in Athens. Following his studies at the University of Georgia he enrolled for post graduate work at the University of Cincinnati, in Ohio, while working for Proctor & Gamble, first in advertising and then in sales (l960-79).

Norman Blackwell is probably best known for his colorful abstract acrylic paintings based on architectural and decorative elements, using vibrant color. Many of his paintings are done in a "modernist version" of pointillism since, during his early studies, he was greatly influenced by works of the French painter Georges Seurat's use of pointillism (a series of dots arranged so that they form an image when viewed from a distance.) (18S9-1891).

In later years he developed many additional styles of expression, including pop art, acrylic portraits, mixed media, pencil, pen and ink, and photo realism.

Today, Norman Blackwell maintains an art studio and farm in Clyo, Georgia, continuing to develop and experiment in various new styles. His regular exhibits included the latest in the Fall of 2009 at the Telfair Museum of Art's Fall Exhibition, in Savannah. He is represented in major private collections, including that of King Fahd in Saudi Arabia, the National Art Gallery (Algiers, Algeria), and the Erickson Gallery in New York City.

The December 2010/January 2011 issue of Effingham Magazine (Georgia) includes a feature article about the artist, written by Ray Steele with photographs by Todd Wood.

A feature story in the Arts & Entertainment Section titled "Effingham County Artist Norman Blackwell Lives Life To The Fullest" by Linda Sickler, appeared in the The Savannah Morning News on Sunday, January 20, 2013.

Biography provided by Robert P. Harrod, Biographical Researcher (New York City).