Step 14: Lights in Central Third
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The Lights
(Steps 14 through 17)
• Perhaps this section should be called "highlights."
The halftones — all of them — are really "lights."
They exist in the light-struck areas of the subject. And we
have rendered them in our painting of the "mosaic of halftones."
Now we are going to turn our a ttention to the most prominent
lights. So maybe "highlights" best expresses this
sequence.
• It is significant that the highlights are painted after
the darks and halftones. The highlights are opaque, impasto
strokes and sit on top of the layers of paint. The highlights
should be painted with very "clean" color. Paint them
boldly, and then leave them alone, if possible. |
Hover to zoom final painting |
| This area of course includes the highlights on
the cheekbones and on the nose — very significant items
in the painting. The "catchlight" on the tip of the
nose (to come in Step 25) may be the most important single brushstroke
in the painting. The lights should be mixed of very clean color
with rich, thick paint. These light areas should be impasto
— very opaque and full-bodied, a final top layer on the
paint. |
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