Forget the fancy names given to different types of bulbs; you need to see the light in order to judge it. Try out a range of artificial lights until you get to a mix that looks good to you. Ultimately, you must do as Cezanne implored, “Trust your little sensations.” Only you can know what you like. Only you can set the lighting in a room and on your paintings so that it satisfies you.
What About North Light in a Studio?
In the northern hemisphere, artist’s studios have for centuries been built with windows only on the northern side, to let only north light in, because it’s such a constant light and good measure of general indoor light. North light is a silvery type light that brings out the cools, purplish, greenish atmospheric colors.
The plus of north light in a studio is that you can paint all day and the subject won’t change. Obviously, in the evening, one needs artificial light, which affords a nice new challenge. You may keep the same floral or still life set-up but when the light changes, the subject changes. When you paint from life, you are painting the light. Learn to see it.
Read Part 1 of this Feature: Sunlight and 'Normal' Light
About the author: Jerry Fresia (view website) holds a PhD from the University of Massachusetts in political science but left academia to pursue a career in painting, an activity he has studied formally and has practiced his entire adult life. From April through October each year he runs oil painting workshops at Fresia Studios on Lake Como in Italy.
