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Hi guys,

Now that the nights are drawing in, how do you ensure your paint stations have enough light to do a good job? I was thinking a desk light but my partner would probably complain it wouldn't go with the decor of the room I was looking for a head torch as a solution but thought I would ask the community.

cheers.

Buy a proper clamp lamp for your desk - to hell with what the missus says!

The only other alternative would be to paint somewhere that is directly under a light bulb.

G.A

you can get some LED lamps that fold down to the size of an A4 binder when not in use.
I use one above my desk, and take it to hotels so I can read. It's easily enough for painting.

Well, I use a day light lamp. Nothing less.

Thanks guys, any chance you could share some links? Do you find the heat from the lamp bulbs dries out the paint quicker?

I have/had a Maplin Desk Lamp that clamps onto the side of your desk. Currently it's not with me, but I highly recommend it - very bright, doesn't heat up the desk surface, and it has a very useful magnifying glass too. Also folds nicely to one side when you're done

I don't know what is the standard in UK, but a 100w lamp will do just great.

 Buttery Commissar wrote:
you can get some LED lamps that fold down to the size of an A4 binder when not in use.
I use one above my desk, and take it to hotels so I can read. It's easily enough for painting.

You can also get a rechargeable OTT Lite.

I hear those ott lights are good.

personally i got multiple cheapo clamp lights with a huge daylight led flood bulb.

I imagine using energy efficient bulbs, if you can find one which gives the right light, would reduce the risk of the light drying out your paint too quickly.

I have this problem too. Where I lived before I had a brilliant desk light that gave out white (not yellowy white) light and was perfect.

What annoys me about the winter is not being able to spray outside, rain, too cold, wind etc :(

I use two Ottlites.

 Ratius wrote:
What annoys me about the winter is not being able to spray outside, rain, too cold, wind etc :(

This is my problem as well.

I paint in the basement under florescent lights like a troglodyte anyway, so the season doesn’t affect me that way.

 General Annoyance wrote:
I have/had a Maplin Desk Lamp that clamps onto the side of your desk. Currently it's not with me, but I highly recommend it - very bright, doesn't heat up the desk surface, and it has a very useful magnifying glass too. Also folds nicely to one side when you're done

I use the exact same one. Makes a lot of difference compared to the LED desk lamp I was using before. I reckon if you got a higher power LED daylight bulb in a normal lamp you'd get on fine though, saves annoying your partner. I was really straining my eyes trying to paint shadowed areas, now I can paint for hours before giving up.

(before and after)

Thanks all, some very useful suggestions!

For those with the Maplin daylight lamp, do you find one sufficient or do you need two? I currently use one big lamp and 2 flexible lamps for my lighting, but if I can just use one and get good coverage that would be ideal.

I have a painting/hobby desk over in the corner of my living room, but the installed room lighting over there is pretty dingy, and far too warm for accurate colour representation.

I got a couple of these cheapo not-anglepoise desk lamps

Although a brief search suggests that these ones are better "Ooh C-clamp base to swap out for £1 extra

And then shove a couple of these bulbs in, choose the 6400k colour setting, and 11w output.

The bulbs are great, brilliant white light for accurate painting, bright enough to illuminate your hobby area but not so bright that they will disturb someone else in the room. I recommend at least two lamps as otherwise you will always be working in partial shadow because of your hand etc. They also do not get particularly hot, so they won't burn your hand or dry out your paints. The advantage of fluorescent vs incandescent

I would also like to add:

I paint in the basement under florescent lights like a troglodyte anyway, so the season doesn’t affect me that way.

Thanks for this!! Sneakily reading Dakka at work at my desk and suddenly burst out laughing in a quiet office

Two desk lamps with daylight bulbs. LED or CFL is fine though I prefer my incandescents.

You can unplug and stow desk lamps if you need to so that it won't clash with your decor.

 General Annoyance wrote:
I have/had a Maplin Desk Lamp that clamps onto the side of your desk. Currently it's not with me, but I highly recommend it - very bright, doesn't heat up the desk surface, and it has a very useful magnifying glass too. Also folds nicely to one side when you're done

Just got one of these today and its great, now I no longer have to suffer under the tyranny of "warm and cosy" house lights. Thanks for the recommendation .

I've got one of these...
http://amzn.eu/9EloaIO

Really ought to get it up and running...

For 15 years I simply used bright "sky" colored bulbs for my room lights coupled with a desk lamp fitted with the same thing. Then I learned that is the worst possible thing you can do after finally buying this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00112VEA6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


White light is so important if you really want to be accurate with your color. If you're painting for quality and showcasing like I do, this will matter. If you're painting for gaming, get something cheaper. Either way, this is the only light I'll ever use. If you are painting for golden demon or competitive purposes, you will need two of these, as one light will cast its own shadows and hinder your ability to shadow to perfection.


EDIT: Also, I really recommend against using a lamp with a magnifying glass. I used one for probably 6-7 years, but the truth is if you have a nice area-illuminating light (such as the one I linked to) your own eyes are all you need. Magnifying my painting often led me to misperceptions of how I was shadowing or highlighting -- often too little. When you see your model as anyone else would, you know exactly the effect you are creating.

Ott lamps are good and Day Light bulbs are good - but now-a-days you just can't beat the (day light) LED's. Even a cheapo fold up lamp with an LED will be good.