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.

By merely increasing or decreasing the amount of contrast in any area we can move the observer through the painting.

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

All artists are illusionists of one kind or another.

You have to understand how the human eye behaves when it views a scene for the first time. Work with that knowledge, and your paintings will have more drama and will evoke strong reactions.

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

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