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light source for oil painting at night

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DeloID

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Feb 11, 2000, 3:00:00 AM2/11/00
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What methods of "correct" lighting (5000K) do you use for night time painting.

Dean

Jaxart

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Feb 11, 2000, 3:00:00 AM2/11/00
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In article <20000211003851...@ng-fi1.aol.com>, del...@aol.com
says...

>
>What methods of "correct" lighting (5000K) do you use for night time painting.

My most recent discovery was a halogen floor lamp that
directs all the light against the ceiling -- and assuming
you have a white ceiling you get back a diffused light
that is not only sufficient for painting by but I now
have one of the floor lamps as my reading lamp in my
living room too. Before that I was always bothered by
glare, no matter the light source I used. Reflecting
all the light from the ceiling has overcome that problem.
--
============================================================
For a unique art experience visit:
http://www.artistnation.com/members/paris/jaxart/index.html


Ken Beyer

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Feb 11, 2000, 3:00:00 AM2/11/00
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Hi Dean

It depends on how far your prepared to fiddle about! There are a lot of options
from halogen bulbs to day-light bulbs, my personal favourite. is the use of
'corrected' filter sheets that I get from a specialist in theatre lighting in the
UK (are you a UK artist?). They have a number of different 'temperatures' for all
the different types of lights that need to be corrected. You can, for instance,
correct ordinary domestic light bulbs using one of the correct filters!.

It works out cheaper to do it this way as well!.

Have you tried your local photography shop?.

Hope this is of some help.

Ken Beyer
UK based Artist Painter
http://www.telinco.co.uk/beyer


DeloID wrote:

> What methods of "correct" lighting (5000K) do you use for night time painting.
>

> Dean


Nita Leland

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Feb 12, 2000, 3:00:00 AM2/12/00
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I use VitaLite full-spectrum fluorescent bulbs in my studio and they're
great. Check out the article on my web site about studio lighting.
www.nitaleland.com/studio/lighting.htm
I think the new Ott-lites being advertised in artist magazines are also very
good. Other brand names are Verilux, GE and Sylvania. The optimum as I
understand it is 5500K for the most balanced light. I've also heard some
artists use halogen light, but I'm concerned about the heat from halogen
bulbs.

--
Nita
ni...@nitaleland.com
Exploring Color Web Site http://www.nitaleland.com
"What's New!" http://www.nitaleland.com/new.htm


DeloID <del...@aol.com> wrote in message
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Jaxart

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Feb 13, 2000, 3:00:00 AM2/13/00
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In article <38a57e8b$0$88...@news.voyager.net>, nle...@erinet.com says...

>I've also heard some
>artists use halogen light, but I'm concerned about the heat from halogen
>bulbs.

It should be a concern, but Most manufacturers of halogen
lights provide ample warnings in the packaging against
misuse. The floor-style lamps I use
have a safety shield over the bulb that keeps anything
from inadvertently dropping onto the hot bulb. The fact
that these are floor lamps with the reflector pointing
upward makes it highly unlikely anything is going to be
placed on top of them anyway. I like the ability to
move the lamp around as needed versus having permanently
installed fluorescents that can't be moved. But if a
person has a studio where fluorescents can be installed,
that would be the ideal I think. I don't have that luxury.
My studio is not of my design or making and the floor lamp
is an ideal solution in my instance. Cheers, Jaxart

--
============================================================
For a unique art experience visit:

http://www.zianet.com/jaxart/index.html
============================================================


Roger Keyser

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Feb 24, 2000, 3:00:00 AM2/24/00
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I have been battling the same problem for acrylic painting on canvas. I have
track lighting for regular bulbs. I too was afraid of the heat from halogen
and since I live in Florida, who wants to stand under the hot lights? I tried
putting chromalux bulb in one of the lights because I had heard they were
great. Wrong! They give off what is basically a rose colored light.
Whatever I painted at night looked awful the next day. Still, regular lights
are yellow. That causes its own problems. Now I have added a "grow light".
It looks like it would give off a blue light. I haven't painted at night yet
with it added. I figure with the combination of red, yellow and blue I should
have a balanced light system. The grow light certainly brightened the room.
I think that most standard fluorescent lights are green. I paint plants and
see everything dulling if displayed in fluorescence. I think the problem is
that the colored light acts like a filter so you can't see the respective
colors. Thus you over paint that color. Or is it that it nullifies the
opposite color on the color wheel. Thus the red bulb would cause my greens to
look grayer. Anyone know more? Maybe it is a combination affect. I just go
by what doesn't work. Until I solve the problem I will probably limit my
night-time painting. Any suggestions welcomed. I don't really want to go to
a floor lamp if I can help it.
Message has been deleted

Gordon Matheson

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Feb 25, 2000, 3:00:00 AM2/25/00
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Roger Keyser <rke...@iu.net> wrote in message
news:38B59823...@iu.net...

> I have been battling the same problem for acrylic painting on canvas. I
have
> I tried
> putting chromalux bulb in one of the lights because I had heard they were
> great. Wrong! They give off what is basically a rose colored light.
> Whatever I painted at night looked awful the next day.
snip

> by what doesn't work. Until I solve the problem I will probably limit my
> night-time painting. Any suggestions welcomed. I don't really want to go
to
> a floor lamp if I can help it.

My current studio is in the basement so there isn't any difference in
painting in day or night. I use two 40 watt florescent 4 feet tubes from
Phillips F40CW daylight bulbs. (046677-108458) I When I take a painting
outdoors, I am not surprised by any changes in the color. (I am using
acrylic paint.) In fact it almost always looks better if there is any
differences in the color relationships in the painting. I used these
lights for years in my office designing fabrics and matching colors to
standards. I never had problems with them and in fact convinced many
menswear and womenswear companies to put them in their design and showrooms.
It always amazed me how multimillion dollar companies showed their wares in
lousy lighting. The Italians were the worst!

I don't know what you do with your paintings but if possible you might want
to try to match the lighting in your studio to the place where the paintings
will be displayed such as a gallery or your living room. That is the place
where the color has to be right.

Keep in mind that almost any color will look slightly different in different
rooms and/or at different times of the day. The only time it looks the same
is when it is under identical light conditions.


good luck

G.

Nita Leland

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Feb 25, 2000, 3:00:00 AM2/25/00
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The most balanced light is 5500 degrees Kelvin found in several brands of
full-spectrum fluorescent bulbs. Anything in that range 5000-6000 would
probably work. I don't know what the gro-lights or aquarium lights measure.
You're right about the color effect of light tints--if your light is
reddish, it will make yellows look orange, if greenish, will make reds
grayer and duller. If you know the conditions a piece will be viewed under,
you can paint using that type of light, but for unknown conditions, the
full-spectrum gives you color that will work in daylight, incandescent or
regular fluorescent light (always looks best in daylight, though.)

Roger Keyser <rke...@iu.net> wrote in message
news:38B59823...@iu.net...

I think the problem is
> that the colored light acts like a filter so you can't see the respective
> colors. Thus you over paint that color. Or is it that it nullifies the
> opposite color on the color wheel. Thus the red bulb would cause my
greens to
> look grayer. Anyone know more? Maybe it is a combination affect. I just
go

Lauri Levanto

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Feb 26, 2000, 3:00:00 AM2/26/00
to
My two cents: Note also that when painting in daylight, the eye responds
to
the level of illumination. When it starts to get dark, teh color balance
of the
eye is changed. The reds shift darker, towards black. The blues
appearbrigter.
When painting a given subject, the subject colors shift as well as your
paints, so the difference is mostly balance d off. If you paint
from your mind too late in the evening, you end with reds stronger than
you intended.

Nita Leland wrote:
>
> The most balanced light is 5500 degrees Kelvin found in several brands of
> full-spectrum fluorescent bulbs. Anything in that range 5000-6000 would
> probably work. I don't know what the gro-lights or aquarium lights measure.
> You're right about the color effect of light tints--if your light is
> reddish, it will make yellows look orange, if greenish, will make reds
> grayer and duller. If you know the conditions a piece will be viewed under,
> you can paint using that type of light, but for unknown conditions, the
> full-spectrum gives you color that will work in daylight, incandescent or
> regular fluorescent light (always looks best in daylight, though.)
>
> --
> Nita
> ni...@nitaleland.com
> Exploring Color Web Site http://www.nitaleland.com
> "What's New!" http://www.nitaleland.com/new.htm

The is nothing like full spectrum fluorescent light. The best tubes have
several but separate vawelength spikes so balanced that the light seems
uniform.
However, if you use pure pigments, some of them may have narrow
spectrum characteristics, that are enchanced with the spikes.

Incandecent lights have a continuous spectrum, but usually heavily
red shifted, and should be filtered with some broad spectrum blue
f.ex. not cobolt blue.

- lauri

Jaxart

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Feb 26, 2000, 3:00:00 AM2/26/00
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In article <38B59823...@iu.net>, rke...@iu.net says...

>I too was afraid of the heat from halogen
>and since I live in Florida, who wants to stand under the hot lights?

The floor lamps I was referring to do not throw off enough
heat to make the room noticeably warmer. It is a very small
bulb with minimal surface area that gets hot enough to ignite
paper items. All light is giving off heat, even flourescent
ones if you feel of the transformer.

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