Why am I drawn to Realist, Figurative Art?

When I am working on a drawing or a painting, and I am moving backwards and forwards, squinting my eyes and tilting my head, wondering whether what I am making feels right, I ask myself why my ambition is to make works that match what I see with my eyes. Is it because I find works that closely resemble the real world are somehow more honest? Honest according to who? The reality being depicted is dependent on a series of artistic tricks that convince the viewer that what is being depicted is real - so how is that trickery a form of honesty? I guess realism then, is also a form of fantasy creation, a kind of convincing escape, a creation of a convincing parallel world.