Lighting Art
If you have not seen well lit art in a gallery, or have not been in a position to make comparisons, you will be surprised how much effective lighting positively affects the presentation of art. Many people purchase art and never include lighting in the art installation process, but it is definitely worth the effort. Effective lighting will bring out nuances and effects in your art collection that you might not have seen before. Also it will tend to increase the art's importance in the design of a room or environment.
Lighting Upgrades
I recommend lighting upgrades in most home and gallery applications. I am talking about specific types of bulbs and in many cases (especially the home or business), upgrades of fixtures (recessed, track, etc.) It makes a profound difference in the appearance of the art and the overall ambience of the area being lit.
Light Damage to Art
Art needs to be protected from light damage. First of all, do not light your art all day. With electric utilities at their current cost levels, I may not need to bring this up, but just in case. A safe rule of thumb is to light the art when you are viewing it, and keep the light off at other times. Also, keep direct or very bright sunlight AWAY from your art, always. Window glass does not, as a rule, protect from UV.
WARNING! Sunlight has massive UV rays. They will sunburn you, and they are SO harmful to art that they will, over time (and not all that much time) fade works on paper, especially pastels, prints, photographs, and watercolors. Also, textiles will fade in sunlight in a matter of only a few short months, or less. I am talking about inside your house, of course. Window glass does not shield your art from UV!!
Keep art away from fluorescent bulbs, except in certain circumstances. I had a watercolor fading accident many years ago. The purples and violets faded to gray after 3 months of hanging about 3 feet from fluorescent bulbs. Of course, this was basically violating the principle of keeping art away from any sort of excessively bright light with long exposure times (6 days per week).
Incandescent light is generally less harmful than fluorescent light, but standard bulbs give a very imbalanced light, shifted far too much to warm colors. There are ways to compensate for this.
For the museum world, the debate is still in progress as to the status of halogen lighting. Museums have their own special needs and rules. We do use certain halogen bulbs in the 4 galleries where I am the lighting technician.
Lighting Art in the Home
There are special light fixtures available for lighting single paintings. And of course, track, recessed, cable, or other more advanced lighting systems for art collections, as well. Combining special lighting systems and bulbs will create professional results in your home or gallery. You will be amazed at how great your art looks! And it can be accomplished within a budget!
For specific questions and help with art lighting issues and problems, visit Terrell-Lighting.com. It is my dedicated art lighting website. I will help with your art lighting issues at any level you need and want.
