Jeff Little
 1304 Mt. Vernon Dr,
Bloomington, IL 61704
Web site: http://www.angelfire.com/art/wiredjeff
email: wiredjeff@yahoo.com
wk. 309-766-0295
hm. 309-662-1257




"Nature is awesome in its creation. To think that we could improve on what God has created is ridiculous," says Jeff. "I believe that my purpose, as an artist, is to respond to that creation and capture it. The landscape has incredible potential for creating emotional responses. The problem is, minutes after viewing a beautiful sunset or a powerful storm, we quickly move back into our own little world of worries, responsibilities and pleasures. The challenge and joy of painting landscapes is to capture that heightened moment and preserve it."

Jeff grew up in the Midwest and enjoyed playing on his grandparent's farm, fishing in the rivers and playing in the creeks of Illinois. The experiences and memories of these adventures fuel his paintings and especially his figurative work. He finds the subtle beauty of Illinois breathtaking, and will probably never tire of trying to capture it on canvas and paper.

Jeff's paintings are based on actual places that he knows and loves. Despite the truth of real locations, his paintings have a surreal quality to them. "The dictionary defines the word surreal as having the intense, irrational reality of a dream," Jeff says. "A dream is, basically, a lie that people tell themselves. The mind makes up a fantastic story that usually consists of fears, fantasies and half-truths. As an artist, the only stories I can tell are fiction, based on truth. What is fiction but a glorified lie? The challenge, as an artist, is not just to tell a good lie, but to tell an incredible lie. A lie so wonderful that, even if those viewing a piece doubt its authenticity - its truth - they believe it, because it touches something that they, themselves, want to be true."

In his paintings, Jeff tries to challenge the elements of the landscape through the interaction and intensity of colors within the piece. He tries to push his colors to an intensity that sometimes nudge the boundaries of believability. Color is an incredible tool for tapping into the range of emotions that make up the human spirit. Jeff doesn't want people to just "view" his paintings; He wants them to react to them. Dreams use a selective process of eliminating unnecessary information and enhancing the information used. In an attempt to tell his "lies", he often leaves out such truths as buildings, telephone poles and trash.

Jeff's new figurative work combines his passion for landscape, archeology and music. He aims to leave these paintings open-ended. It is up to the viewer to put together the story. Usually, his figures are facing towards the horizon. They are viewing the unknown...the future, the past.

"I hope you believe my prevarications. Whether you believe them or not, it is important that I be able to tell them. After all, as an artist, I am just a habitual liar in search of truth."

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