Realistically there is no limit to the possibilities. How does an artist make decisions?

A painting with a message does not happen by accident. It happens when you place elements in their order of importance.

Put a symbol, or language of some sort, in a painting and it will be noticed by the viewer whether or not they can read that particular language.

All paintings are abstract ideas, not representations of a true reality.

Think of the centre of interest in a painting as you would read it in a novel or see it in a movie. The crisis or climax is that point when you simply can't put the book down or wouldn't dare leave the movie, for whatever reason.

The person viewing your work has no idea what the scene really looked like, nor do they care.

All artists are illusionists of one kind or another.