Jeff Faust
Bits and pieces of nature collected on walks, as well as everyday objects, characterize the subtle surrealism of Jeff Faust. His joy is seeing nature and his interpretation of the world in his paintings. Completely self-taught, Faust studied the art and lives of many artists, creating a visual education for himself. From years of study, experimentation, and self-discovery, Faust's solo journey as an artist is reflected in the simplicity and balance of his unique style and vision.
If one could view Faust's entire body of work, curious elements cycle through it and reoccur in new surroundings. Pristine spheres, eggs, weather beaten feathers, a taut line, appear and disappear only to emerge some years later. It is as though a thought or character has suddenly re-entered the visual novel he is revealing. Cloth, sticks and ceremonial altars, find visual satisfaction with the underlying theme of re-arranging the normal.
He describes his works as visual forms of the written word with a natural sense of balance consisting of extraordinary circumstances. Some of his paintings are simple visual poems while others have the complexity of a short novel that requires contemplation, challenging the observer to consider creation through Faust's surreal perspective.
"I've always deeply loved the work of master realists in portraying the images we are used to, whether a landscape or still life, but I feel a real need to turn that a little bit and create a visual that doesn't actually exist - but one that I would like to see. I have a fairly active daydreaming mind. I can pick up a twig and it will trigger a thought of an image as I would like it to be. Images come to my mind that may not be conventional, but through self-exploration and daydreams they are transformed onto the canvas. I'm left with a deep satisfaction that something will be altered in the viewer."
