tatsu Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 I just have to vent this out. I normally paint my minis in the living room, but decided that I could catch up on some painting while doing some work at my computer desk. With this particular mini, I'm aiming to get my paint as smooth as possible. So I start adding thin heavily watered down layers, slowly building up the color. But, as I paint the layers little specks start coming off my brush on the mini! I would correct it and then notice that my brush strokes REALLY started showing up and the specks kept returning! I was on the verge of sending the mini out into the snow when I realized what was occuring. My desk lamp is a really bright, really hot halogen light that was positioned literally 2-3 inches from the mini and 4-6 from my palette. From the time it took me to dip my brush, then bring it to the mini, the water would evaporate and the paint would clump together. The little specks were little balls of paint. And I was concentrating so hard on the specks that I did not notice the water had evaporated out of my thinned base color into pure paint, actually a little bit thicker when I compared it to a pure fresh drop of paint out of the bottle. I thought the painting Gods where playing with me, Jester and Digital [email protected] in the clouds teaching me a lesson to thin my paints or something. So, lesson to you all. Light is your friend, but heat is not. It is the devil out to ruin all your minis and fill your mind with thoughts of violence and bloodshed. Well, in mini form. Ah well, back to studying for my midterm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digital [email protected] Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 Yep, I find I have to watch my paint thickness extra careful when working under a desk lamp. That is why is is better to have all around good lighting instead of 1-2 bright desk lamps. But alas, I am also working under the relentless heat and white out of a desk lamp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikmal Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 I have been seeing infomercials lately on Ott-Lamps, while normally very very expensive, are quite cheap in this infomercial. Through the infomercial you can get this lamp for 99.99 ( http://www.save-on-crafts.com/ottrucolfloo.html ) (Same as listed price on web page) 99 bucks for this lamp is an awesome Deal!! but with the infomercial you also get this one free of charge with the floor lamp ( http://www.save-on-crafts.com/ottr13watala.html ) which is normally 79.99... now here is the kicker if for any reason you do not like the floor lamp you can send it back on thier dime..(with in 30 days of course) and you get to KEEP the table top version free of charge!!!! What is cool about Ott-lamps and the reason I bring them up on here is because they radiate very little heat and shed an awesome light for painting minis to. I think that they are by far one of the best lamps for mini painters out there to day.. if anyone wants the number from the infomercial I would be glad to give it to them.. just send me an email ok :) -jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digital [email protected] Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 I bought a OTT light a few weeks ago from JoAnn fabrics and I don't think the bulbs are birght enough. I have the same stand up lamp pictured with the 18w light and I don't feel I get much light from it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airhead Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 @Tommy, close, but OTT brand lights are supposedly more color corrected than anything else out there. You pay through the nose for anything more than the base model. But watch ebay for a deal every now and then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkh Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 I bought a OTT light a few weeks ago from JoAnn fabrics and I don't think the bulbs are birght enough. I have the same stand up lamp pictured with the 18w light and I don't feel I get much light from it. I agree with you completely on this one. I got an OTT lamp last year. I tried my best to paint under it but it was just too dark for me to use just the one lamp. So I am back under two 75 watt lights. The OTT just stays clamped to the desk, haven't used it in forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusoe the Painter Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 No flourescent will ever be color correct, their lighting physics are all wrong. Even my Ott-lite compact flourescent bulb ($33, replaces conventional 60 watt incandescent ) shows blues and purples a little wonky. It also doesn't make a intense beam of light. Halogen lamps are close, as they approximate the black box model of radiation very closely, as does the sun. But halogens run too 'cool'. Bright daylight is nearly 5000k, most halogens top out at 3600k. www.solux.net makes color corrected halogen bulbs, used by art galleries, print labs, etc. A special back reflector lets out yellow tones out the back, while reflecting more blue into the beam. The Solux bulbs have a CRI of around 95 ( Color rendering index, daylight = 100 ). They are also cheap, around $7/bulb. But they only come in 12V MR-16 style bulbs. The task lamps Solux sells are seriously marked up, and any desklamp that takes a 12V MR-16 is seriously expensive ( $60+ ). But, Dick Blick is having a sale on a art display lamp ( $50, $30 on sale ) that can take MR-12, but the plug inside can also hold a MR-16. Solux lamps come in only 35W and 50W models, so I had to test a 20W MR-16 on the lamp, as it says it only handles 20W bulbs. The 20W MR-16 runs cooler than the MR-12 ( Bigger, father away from socket ), so it should handle 35W fine. And it makes a nice intense beam. The lil lamp can telescope from 9 to 24". The nice thing about this setup is it is small and light. One good thing is a LOT of track lighting uses MR-16 bulbs. Some day, I plan to install some track lighting in my paint area, and fit it all out with Solux. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artists Wren Posted March 10, 2005 Artists Share Posted March 10, 2005 If anyone's interested in Ott Lites or Daylight lamps, Joann's online is currently having a sale (just scroll down to the lighting section) on both. I've been using a desk lamp painting recently, and I have to agree that it's not very good, and I'm not even having such extreme problems! It's hot under that light, and it is drying the paint much faster. Normally I use this Daylight lamp, which my husband prodded me to buy when I started painting. I thought it was awfully expensive, but now I'd have to say I consider it the best single purchase I've made for my hobby, and something that's probably saved me an untold amount of frustration. I paint with this inches from my face and the mini, and neither gets hot, nor does it speed the drying of paint. I used the magnifier for a time, but my old eyes now prefer Optivisor style magnification. The nice thing about the magnifier is it can be removed if it isn't useful to you. This lamp is also all that I use to photograph. My photo setup is pretty primitive, but with a good camera, decent background and this lamp, I seem to be able to take pictures that look pretty good. (Here's an example.) I figured I'd mention the Daylight lamp, since it seems to be cheaper than the comparable Ott Lite style, but not very widely known. Though if you want variety of style, Ott looks to have that covered. We ordered an Ott Lite at that sale, so eventually I'll be able to compare the two. I'm under a crummy desk light right now cause I'm teaching my hubby to paint a bit, and I want him to do that under good lighting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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