i’m submitting an art supplement to upenn and they have their own portal for it. when you upload a picture of an artwork you can check a box that says “representative work”…what does it mean? if the work is representative of talent? then shouldn’t they all be checked? idk im confused…
It means if it is depicting a scene from real life, rather than from your imagination. For example, if you went to venice and painted a picture of a bridge there, that would be representative. If you drew a picture of unicorns, no matter who realistic looking it looks, it is not a ‘representative’ work.
This may help too:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/representative%20art
thanks so much @fcm951 
Anytime. I was very confused when I was sending in my oil paintings too. Good luck!