Jeffrey Surret was born in Pennsylvania, in April 1965 to a working-class family in which each member was called upon to contribute financially early on. At eleven years of age, Surret took his first part-time job making white chocolate at a nearby factory. He continued to find other eccentric employment that he would enjoy, mostly creative work with his hands-on bicycle repair, to carpenter's assistant, to glassblowing. A creative and unconventional personality ultimately led Jeff to art.

By the time Jeff's family moved to Atlanta, he had recently entered high school. One particular art teacher became the pivotal guide to Jeff's development. By graduation, Jeff had gained significant recognition for his artistic talent. With an impressive portfolio and the support of his mentors, he earned a full-tuition scholarship to study illustration and art history at the Savannah College of Art and Design, one of the most prestigious art schools in the country.

In 1993, he was offered a round-trip ticket to Japan as a graduation present from his parents, and he traveled to the east for three months. This experience poignantly broadened his cultural perspective and deepened his interest in landscape art. Upon his return Jeff started working as a freelance commercial illustrator. He found a niche creating marketing packages for a real estate company, then moved on to specialize in architectural renderings, specifically those involving landscapes. He enjoyed the challenge of situating a building within a larger landscape to create a balanced and unique image. From this process, Jeff developed artwork with a purposeful, yet surreal dimension.

Jeff believes that his responsibility as an artist is to avoid artifice and eye candy, and to create work that caused people to stop and explore the subtleties of the image. His "stylistic fingerprint," as he calls it, blends irregular and contrasting shapes with a soft brush technique to achieve a photographic realism. His palette of natural colors and rich muted tones enhances the soft, surreal quality of each painting. Jeff's landscapes resemble daydreams. His works are elusive and mythical, evoking feelings of solitude and unity with nature. This signature style has become the source of much of Jeff's current artistic acclaim. His work has been featured at the New York ArtExpo.