Daylight lamp - worth it?

[soap]

Hello
Before I fork out too much money, I was just wondering if you lot had some advice for me....
I am a pastel artist...due to lack of space my large easel is stored away so I work on a table top easel in our study. I like to paint in the evening (kids gone to bed) but I need better lighting (as we now have nice smooth cozy lighting which is too dark and too yellow) so am looking into getting a daylight lamp.
This one seems pretty fab, as you can clamp it on a table, but it also comes with a clamp for an easel (if my large easel ever comes out again), but it ain't cheap!! It comes with an 18w daylight tube which gives a 100 w light.


So am wondering if this is worth buying or if I shall get something simpler....
Would love to hear your experiences or advice!
Thanks
Sophie
(x-posted in my usual 'hang out place' the pastel forum)

[boomerbeach]

Watch the price on these things, "Big Lots", a chain with stores here in So
Cal had similar model for $20- U.S. two weeks ago. I bought a floor-standing model on E-Bay for about $40- inc/shipping last yr.
Yes, it was worth it. Great for painting, just as good for reading.
boomerbeach in SoCal

[vinesqueen]

I don't have one of those, but I use a grow light, full spectrum, in a regular goose-neck table lamp. It works really well for my needs.

I'll have to see if there is a "Big Lots" store in my area, since I have been wanting additional light.

[soap]

Thanks for that. There's no 'Big Lot' in the UK, but am glad to hear it is worth it. Now I have to figure out if I can afford the one I saw....70 pnds,..that's about 140 dollars I suppose....quite pricey but it seemed more versatile than the cheaper ones...hmmm....am very tempted...but not sure where to find the money....

Thanks!

[Old Baldy]

I've resisted buying the expensive lamps, also wondering if they are worth the money. I have a bank of 4 florescent tubes in the ceiling over my easel, and a silver brooder lamp shade clamped to the top of the easel with a GE blue daylight bulb screwed in.
While the light seems bright enough for evening painting, but when natural daylight (from the north) floods the room the next day, I realize the values (dark & light) of my last night's work are much darker than I thought.
I suspect I need more light------just what kind I'm not sure.

[ArtSavesLives]

Check out Cheap Joe's and some of the other mail order artist supply companies for pricing. . . I have that exact lamp and love it! I got mine from one of the mail order co's. . . . but I got mine cheaper, because they listed it at a much lower price in error three catalogues in a row and I pushed for the advertised price over the "correct" price. I told them if I price a painting wrong, I can't just tell a customer "Oh, by the way, the painting is more because I goofed!" Especially if I had lots of time to notice and correct the error! So I can't guarantee that you will get it cheap. . . but if you order it, get an extra bulb at the same time. . . .you will cancel out an extra shipping charge that way.

Many of the new compact fluorescent bulbs give off a nice, cool "natural" light too. . . .and you might be able to use one in a hardware store clamp light for a whole lot less.

I live in a little 1910 home with poor light. . . and I am always seeking ways to "lighten up!" I remember thinking that my paintings looked so different under adequate light when I hung my first show!

[Tracy Lewis]

Soap, you can buy cheap clip on light bulb holders from most diy shops. Daylight or craft bulbs can be bought there also. The one I have is doing a great job. Try it out .

[chewie]

I also have this exact lamp and love it! I never thought I'd spend the money, but my mom went to a clearance place of art stuff, and this was there, but no bulb, so I got it for dirt cheap. but now that I have it, i wish I'd of sprung for it years ago, as I work in a basement room with one teensy window.

in a situation like yours, without a place to really set up shop, i think this sort of thing would suit you great. if you can put your stuff in a more perm. spot, you can get those cheap shop light fixtures, 4ft. long, and use 2 tubes--one with 5000chroma, one with 7500chroma. those make a great mix of north and daylight light. (not the same thing). good luck

[soap]

Thank you all so much. I did bite the bullet and bought it. Its great! I can finally paint in the evenings (even though with summer coming the daylight stays longer). Its perfect for my situation. It is not very big, but gives enough light and is not in the way during the day. I've clamped it on my desk, over my table top easel and just get my pastels out in the evening and switch it on. Works a dream! it was a bit of an expense but I am glad I bought it.

[maggie53]

Originally Posted by chewie

if you can put your stuff in a more perm. spot, you can get those cheap shop light fixtures, 4ft. long, and use 2 tubes--one with 5000chroma, one with 7500chroma. those make a great mix of north and daylight light. (not the same thing). good luck

Hi Chewie,
Could you explain this a bit more, please? I am now set up in my finished basement, after unsuccessfully trying to paint in my bedroom. I have flourescent lighting in the ceiling. Should I replace the bulbs with those full-spectrum bulbs, or daylight bulbs? (or are those the same thing?) I don't know much about this yet...I always painted by a window, or by regular lamp light at night, but was shocked to see how different my colors looked in natural light the next morning. I would like to recreate natural light as closely as possible. I can't afford one of those expensive easel lights. So what is your recommendation? Advice from anyone else?

Thanks, in advance.

[Einion]

Originally Posted by maggie53

Could you explain this a bit more, please? I am now set up in my finished basement, after unsuccessfully trying to paint in my bedroom. I have flourescent lighting in the ceiling. Should I replace the bulbs with those full-spectrum bulbs, or daylight bulbs? (or are those the same thing?)

Full-spectrum and daylight tubes are roughly the same type of thing, but the specs can vary quite a bit with lights of this type so it is worth checking some of the information to make sure of what you're getting.

The figures to look for are the temperature (in K, Kelvins) and the CRI (colour-rendering index/color-rending index). There's a fair bit of info online about this, as well as some older threads here on WC!, if you want to bone up. Here are a few from Studio Tips but I know there are some others from other forums on the site too:
http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=254071
http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=325795

Einion

[maggie53]

Thanks, Einion! I'll check out those other forums.

[bjr001]

Hello

I don’t know which manufacture is being discussed since no name was mentioned. And yes, daylight bulbs make a big difference over any standard bulb with respect to colors in addition to improving the well being of a person. I use Phillips natural light compact florescent bulbs where I paint and they are great.

I then found out about a company called Ott-Lite that produces natural daylight bulbs for various industries including the fine arts. Their lamps and bulbs are sold at Michaels and other art supply stores. Their bulbs have a special connector so it fits only their lamps. I found that Office Depot also sells Ott-Lite lamps and bulbs. They have two clamp-on models that sell for $49.95 and $69.95.

http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?...= all&An=text

Then one day I’m at the Home Depot and discover they sell Ott-Lite bulbs only including one that is a regular screw-on type. The box is marketed as a natural daylight for plants. This light is rated as 17W (actual power consumption) and has the Garden club of America ward seal on the box. This light bulb costs $20.00 and is great.

I compared this light to my Phillips natural daylight compact florescent bulb and Phillips produces a light that is almost yellow compared this Ott-Lite. I contacted the company and was informed that this compact florescent bulb has a color rating of between 5000k and 6000k and a CRI of over 91. In addition this light only emits trace amount of harmful UV light which is bad for colors.

I have another Phillips 18” florescent natural daylight bulb that has a color temperature of 5000k. The Ott-Lite has brighter whiter light then the Phillips. Isn’t marketing lovely. They won’t sell the screw-on bulb to artists because they want to sell them the complete expensive lamp but they’ll sell the screw-on bulb to indoor gardeners. Check it out.

[chewie]

http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/show...89#post5657889

here is a thread with all the info. on those tube lights i was talking about. I put them into my own studio as per donna aldridge, and they do make a nice balanced light. i had never thought to put 2 diff. types into one fixture, and now that i have, i'm alot better off.

[Neal Glover]

I don't know if anyone has posted this before, but some might be interested in this series of pages from GE Lighting. Aside from learning about the different bulbs and which is best for your purpose you can actually compare the color spectrum curves for each. Pretty neat.

Edit: Wow. The spectrum curves show just how far off EVERYTHING is from natural light, even the best bulbs.

Neal