pictionary reflection

After numerous failed attempts, I am proud of the images I finally created for my word, "abstract". What I had difficulty with was the way to convey this word in an orginal, yet understandable sense. I could have just mimicked a Jackson Pollack, but I thought that it was too copy-cat like. As an artist, I tend to be extremely realistic in my work, so I rarely make things abstract. Details are important to me, and a lack of them just irritates me. The first collage I posted, with the flipped horizon line and buildings combined two different perceptions. On top is a picture of my high school I drew for one of the graduation events last year. I drew it on a 5x7 piece of cardstock, and as you can tell, made sure every last aspect of the building was represented. Beneath it, is my attempt to abstract it. While I think it looks like crap, it demonstrates the simplification and the basicness of what is considered abstract. The second collage combined images seen in everyday life, but used in a new way. I decided to make the vegetables and fruit into a flower because it was unexpected. We know what they are and we know what a flower is, but to see them used to create a flower is a little surreal. You really have to think about what you are looking at and why, which I feel happens a lot with abstract art. The last one was me just completely going beyond my comfort zone and creating something new and original. Obviously the figure is a woman, but it is totally distorted with an emphasized head and tiny body. The face in and of itself is distorted as well. All of the essential parts are there to identify it as a face, but they are not cohesive. They look as if they don't belong together. Although I complained about this project while I was working on it, worrying that everything would look like crap, I am really happy with the results. Not only do they look good, but they also helped me step outside my normal realm of thinking and create in a more original way. Now I understand every detail is amazing, but they are not necessarily required for a great piece.