The human mind “wants” to make sense of what it sees. Therefore, it takes the information presented to it and makes certain assumptions based on an inclination. An example of this is the vague shadows and reflections coming from inside a closet in a child’s room at night. If the child believes in monsters, the shadows and highlights are scary. Alternatively, how about when you are frustrated and angry because you are unwittingly convinced you cannot find something. Often a different person (or even you in a calmer frame of mind) will go and find the “lost” object in the very same drawer you swear you looked in so many times. The mind “sees” what it thinks it sees. As an artist, you may take advantage of this phenomenon like a skilled magician.
Sargent, an artist who has influenced my work to some degree, was skillful at playing this mind game. Sargent was both a realist and an impressionist. He would often paint the focus or subject of his paintings with a pleasant, smoothly focused detail. In the surroundings, however, you could find that Sargent painted exquisite details using little more than the 
viewers imagination. For an example of this, look at the image of “Capri Girl”. Do you see the perfect circle of the shiny gold earring? Now look closer at the image and see close up what Sargent actually painted. Why there is nothing more than a few well-placed blobs of goldish-white paint. Why does it look like a perfect circle? Because that is what your mind wants to see dangling from a girl’s ear.
Look for these little tricks in the art of the masters and allow them to influence your work.?
