Every artist no matter where you work needs good lighting to paint with. It is impossible to paint good color and values if you don't have enough light, to warm a light or even to much light. How you may ask can you have too much light, the answer is when you are plein-air painting and you are painting with direct sunlight on your canvas or paper. With that much
sun on the painting surface, you can't see the true values of what you are painting.
Not enough light to work from is another problem that many people face when working in a room with incandescent lights from a table lamp. Another problem with incandescent older light bulbs is that they are too warm a light. Incandescent lights throw off a very warm light which will affect what colors you see and are using in your
painting.
North light has always been the best lighting because it is very natural light. One reason north light is so natural is that you don't get direct sunlight with north light. The problem is when working inside, how do you get the look of north light from a light bulb. Many light bulb companies have worked on trying to get that natural light look and many have come up with a good substitute for light bulbs with natural lighting. There are some great natural
lighting products but unfortunately, they also come with a big price tag.
I have come up with a great substitute for those expensive lights. I forget who told me about this hack for making natural light with cheap bulbs, but it is an inexpensive and easy way to make natural light.
First thing you need is a light fixture that hangs high up so the light spreads around the entire room. Don't use a light that is mounted close to your
drawing or painting surface, this will cause hard shadows to deal with when trying to paint or draw.
Find a ceiling fixture that has 2 bulbs. The best is a florescent light fixture that hangs off the ceiling.
One of the florescent lights should be a warm light and the other should be a cool light. There are some manufacturers that sell daylight bulbs, this usually means cool light.
Look for bulbs that state cool white and also warm
white. Get one of each and put both in the same fixture. This gives you a really nice natural lighting and this is a cheap way to make natural light in your studio.
You can also use those new small curly light bulbs that are called Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs that screw into your standard lamp. Again make sure you put 2 bulbs near each other and always make sure there is a cool white and a warm white, and make sure it is bright enough and is far enough
away to spread the light all around the room.
Light up your life
David
