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Lighting plays an important role when it comes to displaying pieces of art around the home. What may seem to be a splendid work of art at a gallery or museum may seem less enchanting once you bring it home and display it in your study or living room.
Don't class this as an impulse buy, you just need to display it right!
It is important to focus on the overall lighting in the room instead of just on the lighting you will be using to highlight the artwork. Take into consideration the brightness of the ambient lighting; the light source that you use to highlight the artwork should be at least three times brighter. To achieve this contrast ratio, you can also reduce the level of the general lighting in the room.
Light focused directly onto the will cast shadows and create a glare. To avoid this, lights should be focused on wall hung-paintings at a 30° angle. Larger frames may cast a shadow even at this angle; simply increase the angle by 5 degrees. If you want the different textures of your oil painting to show, decrease the angle by 5 degrees.
Incandescent and fluorescent lights may be used to light up special pieces of art. However, these light sources are not recommended as they that will affect the quality and longevity of the artwork in the long run.
Halogen lamps are by far, the most popular bulbs used to illuminate artwork in residential settings and restaurants or retail establishments. Halogen lamps have a high CRI (color rendering index).
The CRI of a light source denotes how much it affects the colors of other objects and how well color shades on the object can be perceived by the human eye in the presence of the light source. A higher CRI means that all the colors on your artwork will be reproduced in the exact way that they should appear.
A lot of people stay away from LED lights assuming they will create a harsh white glare. The warm glow of incandescent bulbs is too cozy to give up. However, the yellowish tint of the light cast by these bulbs influences the color spectrum of everything they illuminate.
LED lights have a high CRI and are now manufactured in a range of temperatures starting from warm white at 3000K and going up to cool white at 6500K. As such, using LEDs will help you create varied ambiences inside your home, along with helping you highlight your artwork in the best way possible.
Modern LEDs are now of better quality and emit light that is free from projected heat and UV radiation. LED lights also help save substantially on electricity bills. If you're looking for a long term investment, to highlight art around your home.
There are plenty of light fixtures that you can choose from to illuminate paintings.
- Picture lights are attached to the top of the frame and cast a light downwards and across the painting. Light is distributed across the surface evenly and thus details of colors and textures are clearly visible. However, as these fixtures are very close to the painting, sensitive oils and canvas paintings might get damaged. It is best to use other types of fixtures for rare originals or extremely fine art. You can also switch to picture lights fitted with LED lamps.
- Track lights are suspended from a track or rail that runs parallel to the wall. These lights are great for highlighting individual pieces of art and are most preferred in high-end photography galleries. If the interiors of your home have an ultra-modern or a contemporary look, track lights will work like a charm. However, they are visibly obstructive and are limited in their capacity to provide customized light effects.
- Single unit modular lights or surface mounts are perfect if you need to make a statement with one large painting.
- Recessed lights are a popular 'source-less' light fixtures. They are mounted in the ceiling and can direct light at different angles on objects. Use halogen recessed lights to make the best of your lithographic prints or black and white portraits shine through. You can use UV filters on these lights if they are used to highlight sensitive acrylic or oil paintings.
- Framing projectors have customized halogen lamps fitted with UV filters, and adjustable lenses. The color rendering capacity and beam control offered by framing projectors makes paintings look a lot better than they would in natural light. They are huge though and may not look good if you have one fitted in a small-sized room.
- Mantel lights or spotlights can be placed on a shelf or mantel so as to illuminate the art from the bottom upwards. They are not as visually obstructive as picture or track lights.
A piece of art may draw you in due to its quality, point of view, or craftsmanship. It is always a great feeling to look at something that you connect with. The right painting can uplift your mood and also give character to a room. It would be a shame if a painting doesn’t meet its true potential just because the lighting isn’t perfect.
Paintings and art pieces can look just as good at home as in galleries if displayed in the right way. Don’t be disheartened if your new purchase looks a bit dull or if the colors look too bright. Try lighting it in different ways and you’ll eventually find your winner.
