Judged as one of Birmingham’s Best Young Artists in 2005, John and Breane Trest are husband and wife, co-collaborators based out of Birmingham, AL, for whom, nature and art have always been co-existent.

At first glance their traditionally rendered specimen paintings may seem real, but each is actually an amalgam of natural elements. These elements can be quite diverse, not only derived from plants and animals, but also inspired by emotions, movement and the human form. Together these usually disparate ideas and patterns are melded together to create evocative new forms that are still very familiar in essence.

Each botanical goes through multiple stages, picking up detail and form from the hard edges of graphite, charcoal and pastel to the softer strokes of watercolor and back again. With each step, the piece gains a little more depth and a little more life.

Since the beginning of their collaborative work in 2003, Breane and John have quickly become mainstays at local art festivals including Magic City Art Connection and Birmingham Artwalk and have shown at various well-respected galleries including Maralyn Wilson and Schedler-Minchin. Winners of the Energen Art Competition Grand Prize in 2006, their work has been purchased for the Energen corporate collection as well as Children’s Hospital. Since 12005, their paintings have been published in Black & White, Portico, Birmingham Magazine, The Birmingham News and appeared on WBRC, Birmingham’s Fox Network affiliate.

Building off a narrative that has been evolving for several years now, the Trests are currently working on an illustrated children’s book based on their work.

Having graduated Birmingham-Southern College and attended the Academy of Art College in San Francisco, John works as multimedia director and freelance website designer.

An alumnus of the Alabama School of Fine Arts and attendee of San Francisco Art Institute, Breane recently graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a degree in anthropology.