Someone recently emailed to suggest that we start a discussion regarding studio lighting. Since I LOVE getting suggestions for the blog, I’m on it! First, a photo of my own setup - it’s a second-floor room with the pitched eaves from being up under the roof. I have a pair of windows at either end (here, looking east), a bank of 6 fluorescents (the other 2 are directly overhead of me in this photo), and 2 of those “solartube” thingies that are like little round skylights (again, the other is directly overhead and out of sight in the photo). This gives me a fabulous mix of natural and artificial light that is bright and also fairly shadowless.
This room was a remodel, so I was able to specify this mix; having lived and worked in this room for 6+ years now, the only things I would change would be to add another bank of fluorescents on the west side, and build in task lighting low on the eaves (it’s dark towards the side walls). And I need some shades on the windows: at certain times of the year the sun comes directly in and onto my easel/display setup.
Tags: studio
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May 12th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
What great ideas!! Looks nice! I hope to have something like that in the future. I know it will be when my 6yr and 4 yr old are older!!
Till know I will have to do with sharing my studio with the washer and dryer! I guess we all have to start somewhere though.
May 13th, 2009 at 9:32 am
Angie, my studio spaces have evolved over the years. Twenty years ago, I had a drawing table set up in a corner of the master bedroom; then, I had easel + drawing table + cabinets that had taken over a small formal dining room in our house in California. This is the first purpose-built (well, remodeled) studio space I’ve ever had. The lighting is wonderful, but I definitely need more counter and wall space! An A-frame configuration like this means the eave walls have no room to hang anything. Still - not complaining!
May 13th, 2009 at 9:39 am
I have a 1939 Cape Cod house (1000 sq. ft). Cape Cods have high pitched roofs which tend to make the inside darker than a ranch home. My son lives upstairs (330 sq. ft) and I live downstairs (670 sq. ft). My studio is the 10 ft by 10 ft former dining room on the North side of the house. I have a large window on the North wall which my easel sits in front of. I use a swing arm lamp on my easel with flourescent bulbs and an overhead ceiling fan with 5 flourescent light bulbs. I am surrounded by a ravine with lots of trees which tends to block the light from the North, so I depend mostly on artificial light. Between the window light and the artificial light, I think the studio is well lit - until I go outside. It’s like walking from a cave into the sunlight! Some day - I’ll get more proper lighting. Right now - when I can - I paint on the back deck - right off my studio. Other days - I paint in the studio and deal with the less than ideal lighting.
May 13th, 2009 at 10:14 am
Angie says: “I will have to do with sharing my studio with the washer and dryer!”
I have to share my “studio” (ie the unfinished basement) with the washer, dryer and the occasional mouse.
They don’t make a lot of noise, of course, but mice can be a bit unsettling *(espcially when you don’t know exactly where they are) and, unlike a washer or dryer, they can easily break your concentration.
Come to think of it, maybe that’s why some of my paintings end up with mice in them. At one point, I actually considered attaching one of those glue traps to a horizontal canvas (for realism).
May 13th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
Larry - you should get a cat! I have two - one of which is evil when it comes to mice! Likes to throw them around in the kitchen (rather than in the basement where he originally captures them). Thankfully - he doesn’t eat them! Yuk!
I thought about a studio in the basement - but there are only two windows - neither of which is where a studio would be - and I am claustrophobic when it comes to not being able to see “out.” So - I took over the dining room. Who needs a dining room - we eat in the kitchen or while watching TV in the living room (something I forbade when my sons were growing up!).
May 13th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Actually, we have a cat. But the cat prefers bringing rabbits in from the outside and chasing foxes around.
I kid you not about the chasing foxes part.
A couple mornings ago I looked outside and their was a fox in the yard. I went to get my camera to get a few photos but the fox turned around and ran into the woods. The cat was literally stalking the fox. It went running after it!
I thought dogs were supposed to chase cats but this one seems to have it exactly backwards. The neighbors have a dog and our cat attacked it a couple weeks ago. The poor thing went yelping home with blood dripping off its nose.
May 13th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
Full spectrum light - anything measured over 5500K (degrees Kelvin) and 91CRI (Color Rendering Index) is considered full spectrum, meaning that it is closely matched to sunlight, which is around 7500K and 100CRI - is best for studio work. While north light is good - it is inconsistent and of course, not available at night. More than one light source is best because lights vibrate - causing fatigue and eye strain. Because multiple lights will vibrate at different intervals, they will lessen the vibration effect and cancel each other out. The other advantage to multiple light sources is that shadows are lessened as well. There are oodles and gobs of sources for full spectrum lights - any good art supply store stocks them. At my favorite art supply store a table top Ott-Lite Full spectrum light runs $60 while a floor lamp runs $150 (includes 18w tube).
November 14th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
I am currently installing all new wood floors in my new house. I bought the gun from home depot for $450. Prefinished wood floors are a lot easier to put in than I thought. If anyone has any installation questions just ask I will be happy to help!