Lesson XI: Highlights

Top of the morning, pupils… and what a nice morning it is: the soothing hum of schoolyard vending machines, the pitter-patter of tiny sneakers, the lullaby of backpack zippers… they welcome us to another class together. As always, The Tutor is pleased to see you.

There’s no sense in dillydallying on such a lovely day… so let’s take our seats, flick on the fluorescents, and shed some light on this week’s topic: Lesson XI: Highlights:

Outstanding! You’ve crushed another lesson, students! This week’s homework assignment is to apply highlights to your painted still life.

In painting, highlights are the most strongly illuminated portions of our subject(s): the sparkle on her strawberry Janes, the dartle on her strawberry braids, the twinkle on her strawberry stains…

Depending on the strength of the light source and the quality of surfaces within our still life, the highlights will vary: some paintings require only a dab or two of highlighted pigment; other works – like those containing highly reflective items – will necessitate more. As a rule of thumb, however, less is more when painting highlights.

Since highlights represent the strongest, most piercing light that’s bouncing off of our subjects, paint these accents opaquely. Pure, unmixed white may be used for this assignment.

See you next week, students!