Armand Cabrera
For a more in depth
discussion of lighting see my previous post here. Lighting has the most
impact on how your work is viewed. It is important you paint it in as close to a
natural light setting as possible to give it the best chance in all the other places
you may show it. The first thing is to
make sure you have enough light,
I highly recommend spending the money to
purchase some daylight fluorescent bulbs for your painting situation. They are
efficient with power consumption, don’t output a lot of heat, relatively
inexpensive and long lasting, (my bulbs last 30,000 hours).
You want them to give
you enough light to cover your easel and palette at the same time. This usually
means mounting them in the ceiling or high enough so they are not in your way. I use a four foot long four bulb ceiling fixture with T8 Lumichrome bulbs. Make sure the fixture is the correct size for the bulbs. The sizes are T5, T8, T10,T12 and then the length of the bulb 12, 24, 36, 48 inches or longer.
If you work digitally proper lighting is still
important for other reasons. Don’t depend on your monitor to be your light
source. Make sure your desk setup has bright enough lighting to reduce eye
fatigue. Nothing will ruin your eyes
faster than sitting in a dark room staring at a brightly lit monitor. Daylight
bulbs are a good solution for digital workplaces also in that they help reduce
Seasonal Affective Syndrome and improve overall mood, perception and energy
levels. A desk lamp with daylight corrected bulbs is a good solution if you don’t
have room for more overhead fluorescents.
Next
week I will discuss studio ergonomics.
