Daylight Lamp or Bulb for Art & Crafts

[stephec]

I was just lucky enough to be in Hobbycraft when they had a stack of daylight lamps at half price.

The difference it makes when assembling and painting small models is amazing, especially if you need reading glasses.

 

[Reynard]

The difference it makes when assembling and painting small models is amazing, especially if you need reading glasses.

Useful input, thanks.

My main subject matter is racing cars, so lots of fine detail work, both drawing and in painting.

 

[Pale Rider]

Send one of your artworks to McLaren and tell them it would be so much better if you had the same lighting they have in the factory.

 

[DCBassman]

1600 lumen LEDs available at IKEA. They are stunningly bright...💡

 

[stephec]

Useful input, thanks.

My main subject matter is racing cars, so lots of fine detail work, both drawing and in painting.

It especially helps me with the painting by improving contrasting areas of wet paint, makes it easier to spot where I've over or under sprayed a piece of plastic in comparison to another, far superior to a south facing window as there's no shadows to hide imperfections.

I tend to switch it on all the time now, even in the middle of summer.

 

[Reynard]

Send one of your artworks to McLaren and tell them it would be so much better if you had the same lighting they have in the factory.

McLaren sponsored my PhD back in the day.

To put it in layman's terms, it was research in "how to break pieces of racing car"

 

[Reynard]

It especially helps me with the painting by improving contrasting areas of wet paint, makes it easier to spot where I've over or under sprayed a piece of plastic in comparison to another, far superior to a south facing window as there's no shadows to hide imperfections.

I tend to switch it on all the time now, even in the middle of summer.

My window faces south west - it gives me, if you pardon the pun, a window of good light from about midday to around half three at this time of year, and till around half six in summer.

It's frustrating at the moment, because by the time I've got everything squared away for the day, the light's pretty well much gone, and if I'm stuck indoors because it's raining, it's hard to do anything on any artwork because it's too overcast, and ordinary (LED) lighting makes it so hard to judge colour and tone. OK, with acrylics I can overpaint, but I can't do that with watercolour.

Am going past Wilkinsons on Thursday, so will pop in to get a daylight bulb for my desk light and take it from there. By what you're saying, it makes one heck of a difference.

 

[Bazzer]

I used to use a Maplins version one of these when wood carving. I found the circular bulb helped with shadow from my hands and the magnifying glass was excellent for fine detail. Past tense as I dropped it and couldn't get a replacement bulb.
More recent ones on the market seem to have LEDs. I would check if the lighting is user replaceable. - I only bring this up as I had to go light shopping with Mrs B a month or so ago and I found it disturbing that a sizeable proportion of household lights have LEDs which are not user replaceable.

 

[Reynard]

Well, I picked up a 40w daylight bulb for £2 in Wilkinsons this morning - It was the highest wattage I could get for the E14 / SES fitting.

By the time I sat down to work on my current project (a watercolour that requires masking off of lots of fine detail) it was already dark outside, so this was as good a test as any. Only managed half an hour's painting (too tired to do any more), but initial results are pretty encouraging.

Although the light definitely comes across as rather harsh compared to the 40w warm white LED that's usually fitted to my desk light, it's so much easier to a) see what I'm doing, and b) mix, apply and lift out paint.

Can't as yet comment on how this performs on longer sessions and when there is actual daylight outside, but seems like £2 well spent.

Thanks for all the advice folks, it's muchly appreciated.

 

[Tenkaykev]

These are excellent.

They cost less than a tenner. Combine it with a anglepoise type light or, as I have done, an inexpensive IKEA uplighter, the type with a flexible arm halfway up the stem, mount the led in there and you've got the equivalent to the really expensive ones you see advertised in various magazines.

Philips Master Expert Colour 5.5W GU10 LED Dimmable High CRI97

Edit to say that daylight has a CRI ( Colour Rendering Index) of 100, The Philips has a CRI of 97, about as good as you can get

 

[Reynard]

Sounds like the one to go for if someone needs really accurate colour rendition @Tenkaykev

Still early days with the one I bought this morning, but one to bear in mind for an upgrade if needed.