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I've been painting for a year now and for most of that I've been using my desk lamp. It's one of those chain pulled dealies with the green glass shade like you see in libraries.
I'm starting to get sick of it though. It just doesn't put off enough light.
I'm starting to look at clamp style table mounted armature lighting, but I don't know what to get.
What do you guys use, and what do you suggest?
Links are a plus!
Thanks.

i found an adjustable ultra white desk top. It has a flexible post . Picked it up for 8 $ at Wal-mart. if you get a chance check there art and furniture department. I'm sure something like what i have would be an improvement over the ambient lighting of your lamp.

i have a daylight company task lamp with 2 cfl daylight tubes in it.

If i was shopping for a decent painting lamp these days, id want something with daylight LEDS.

*edit* Having just looked, finding a task lamp with leds isnt easy it seems! This is the newer version of what i have http://us.daylightcompany.com/product/daylight-triple-bright-lamp-32500/

*updated with US link*

Nice. I wonder if I can find them locally...
Anyone else?

There is a brand called Ott Light that makes many different sizes of daylight fixtures. I got mine at a craft store called JoAnne Fabrics, and used a 50% off coupon from the newspaper.
Should you buy one I suggest getting a spare bulb or two with it.

I use http://www.dickblick.com/products/daylight-naturalight-hobby-table-lamp/

You can find a generic brand one at Big Lots for like $25.

As long as you get a Daylight lamp you will be much much better off than you are now.

Bought an OttLite at 50% off at Michaels a couple weeks ago. Besides my R&C brushes, this was the best hobby purchase I made.

well it is really weird but a huge help for when you get shadows in your way I am using a head light that straps on to your head bought it at walmart in sporting goods for $5

Yeah it's a clamp light for me, just put a daylight bulb in it. It does make shadows though. Idealy I would always paint on the picnic table outside in full daylight

Pretty sure my wife would never stop laughing if I got the head light. Still not as bad as the little magnifying visor you can get to wear. I will probably need one when my eyes get old though

I got a clamp lamp from Michaels for $10 that is also a giant magnifying glass, and have loved it. It has helped improve my paining of small details alot, and have enjoyed it ever since I started using it. Only downside is that it puts out alont of heat, so dont put your hands too close and it will work out great for ya.

Any lamp is the same if it has adjustable neck.

The light bulb is whats most important ( example below )


its also worth noting dont choose reflective surface table or anything bright.
The redirecting light will stress your eyes especially painting for long periods.

I would also caution that most models while being used are viewed under florescent lighting, so keep that in mind.

Full spectrum lights are what us purists use, like the one I linked or an Ottlite.

Thanks all! Great info.

LunaHound wrote:Any lamp is the same if it has adjustable neck. The light bulb is whats most important

QFT. I found my lamp in a pile of junk left by previous tenants in the basement of a crappy college town apartment. Bought a full-spectrum bulb and after a once-over with a damp paper towel to get the encrusted dust off, I had everything I needed. I like gooseneck desk lamps, as I want the adjustability, but found that clip-ons got in the way (to shine where I was painting, they had to be placed where my elbow wanted to go - with a desk lamp, I can place it in front of my arm and curve the head in over the top, out of my way).

i use two 150 watt incandescent standing lamps.

Meg Maples of Privateer Press talked about this a few days ago here. Could be useful.

As mentioned earlier:
Incandecent: Orange
"Daylight": Blue
Regular Florescent: Blue to Green
LED: Usually Blue (though this varies WIDELY depending on the model and manufacturer)

So what do you do for white light?

Halogen. Halogen lamps, though they suck electricity, they also produce a light that is actually pretty much white. Certainly whiter then most alternatives.

LED is making progress though. Earlier LED lamps were blue as all heck (and some still are). Newer models though have made a lot of progress to color correct. I've found the JANSJO line that IKEA sells to be quite good, producing a light that isn't blue at all (in fact it's actually a tad orange, though it's still whiter then incandecent). At $10-30 depending on exact model the price it right, and they also feature a nice flexible gooseneck that allows you to really position it carefully for multipule uses.

I like the Ott light for painting.

I have used an LED on my airbrush vent, but I no longer us it. It just difusses all the colors and makes them very hard to discern. I'm not a fan of it at all and would not recommend it.

2 full spectrum bulbs with a blue bulb on a dimmer switch to counter the sunlight that increases and decreases in my area. Most importantly you want full spectrum and at minimum 2 bulbs to limit the amount of shadows. I also have a handy self lit magnifying lens that model ship builders use. I find that the hobby has changed and now models have to be excellent quality at x4 magnification, and only self lit magnifiers prevent shadows.

Yes, even with an Ott Lite it is good to have some other ambient light available while painting.

I'd say it depends on your work space. Either get clamp on lamps, desk lamps, or floor lamps with a goose neck reading lamp if your work area is really small. The actual lamp is less important than the bulb.

My personal set up is two cheap goose neck clamp on lamps I bought dirt cheap second hand. I have a regular CFL in one and a "daylight" bulb in the other.

With their powers combined I can see the colors fairly accurately compared to natural daylight though if I get my lamps too close I tend to paint a little darker than intended.

Two light sources helps eliminate shadows and the two tones help me get the colors I want. YMMV but I got one of the lamps for $2 at a goodwill.

Picked up an Ott desktop lamp tonight, and though it was a huge difference in lighting and eye strain, the post on the lamp was too short and I kept hitting my paint brush on it.
I'm taking it back tomorrow for a floor style or maybe a armature lamp.