Painting at night?

[TheAlchemist310]

What do you guys or what would you use if you had to paint/draw at night in the dark. in terms of lighting?. e.g fluorescent lighting, extra equipment etc.

Thank you in advanced.

[daphnesacre]

Hi Alchemist, I see it was well over two months ago you've asked this question and maybe you received an answer on one of the other forums but Matthew Cornell talked about it on his blog. http://mcornellart.blogspot.com/ Most of his latest paintings have been nocturnes. Cheers, ks

[Yellow Ogre]

I really like Matthew Cornell's work/ Thanks.

I was thinking of the 1950's Van Gogh film "Lust for Life" where Kirk DOuglas had a bunch of candles on the brim of his hat. They make headbands with LED's that are pretty bright but the light color is too cold. My father used to use a surgeons light that was plenty bright, but I don't know where you would pick one up.

Too much light and you lose the ability to see the subject and too little and you can't see what you are painting. WSpeaking from night flying experience where we used red lights and dimmed.
Me - I take photos and work from those.

[lumiere33]

I guess you had answers, I'll just add : daylight lamps are great

[Carcharhinus]

I've been painting at night recently because in a house with lots of big windows and lots of pale walls that reflect the sun all over the place, it's hard to control the light in a reliable manner. It doesn't help that the sun rises behind the house so in the morning the light is shining directly through the back windows, and in the afternoon it comes through the front windows.

My still life set up is haphazard as it is without having to dismantle it and move rooms half way through painting. I have lamps balancing on piles of books, one table stood on top of another table.

That said, painting at night is the most reliable method of controlling the light for me. If I put my lamp at the window where the sun comes from, I can kind of start painting in the afternoon/early evening too, and I have a rough sketch next to my still life of where the shadows and highlights fall so at least when the light isn't in the right place I can do a bit of work using that as a reference.

I think I may get some day lamps soon though. That or I'll be relying on photographs instead. Having to wait half a day before I can paint every time doesn't exactly do wonders for the half apples and other fruit I'm trying to paint.

[Sarah Edgecumbe]

Great question, Sorry i don't have the answers. I agree that without the optimal studio placement for light, it is easier to create the light.

I am a shift worker (nurse) so for me i have odd times off. I have just set up a studio in a garage where i can control all light. I have bought some daylight bulbs which should arrive any day now. I'm hoping this will solve my problem.

I'll let you know what i think of the bulbs

good luck

sarah

[Keith Russell]

I use two "daylight balanced" incandescent/flourescent light fixtures, the kind used for drafting tables. I use the GE "Reveal" 100-watt incandescent bulbs, and the flourescent "rings" that were included with the lamps.

I have two of these on each of my drafting tables, and another daylight-balanced flourescent goose-neck lamp over my palette.

I usually paint at night, and though there is one small window in my basement studio, sunlight only hits the room in the late afternoon, and I am rarely in the studio at that time...