"Realistic Abstracts"

I realized some time ago that I am a realistic painter: I paint based on reference material before me, whether that is a real landscape or a photo. In order to try to paint "abstracts" I found the easiest method for me was to abstract the subject first and then paint-realistically-what I saw. One way is to make macro photos of macro photos, the resulting image being such a closeup as to be unidentifiable. Another is to collage pieces of images together then paint the resulting composition.