MEET CLIFF

Cliff Powell is a contemporary surrealist painter based in Wellington, Florida, whose work exists at the crossroads of surrealism and fantasy. His paintings blur the boundaries between the real and the imagined, creating worlds that feel both familiar and strange. Through a surreal lens, he explores curiosity, wonder, and the spaces between what is seen and what is felt.

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Cliff builds paintings the same way he would a structure, layering through planning, concept development, and intentional design. The process is both instinctive and architectural, combining discipline with imagination. Working primarily in acrylic, his art is defined by an ethereal color palette and a blend of precision and a dreamlike atmosphere. Due to a form of color vision deficiency, his approach is intuitive and deliberate, focusing on contrast, balance, and how colors interact to achieve harmony and depth.

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Themes that inspire his work include childhood memories, retro-futurism, and philosophical curiosity. Each painting reflects his fascination with the mysterious and the ordinary, blending hints of nostalgia with glimpses of what lies ahead. His compositions often feature unexpected juxtapositions in which familiar forms appear in unusual contexts, sparking curiosity and inviting reflection.

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Born in 1978 in Lake Worth, Florida, Cliff’s path to becoming a contemporary surrealist painter has been unconventional. He holds a BFA in Interior Design, graduating Summa Cum Laude, and has been a touring musician, recording artist, general contractor, interior architect, project executive, and in real estate development. These diverse experiences shape his artistic perspective, combining design precision with emotional depth.

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What began as a way to explore creativity beyond his professional life has become a pursuit of visual storytelling. His art speaks to the daydreamers, those who find the absurd in the ordinary and see fantasy not as escape but as a way to understand something deeper.