Am I being too critical with my finished figures?

[Stephen Ward]

Anyone look at their figures outside of the direct light they paint them under and they just don't look as good? Maybe it's just me, but when I paint under my lamps, I finish a figures face, for example, and am so, so satisfied, but if i move it around somewhere else in the house for some reason and look at it, it seems more bland and lacks all the contrast I painted onto it to compensate for less than desirable lighting at shows, etc. Am I just going crazy or do the rest of you guys get this?

 

[Einion]

Yeah this is pretty common Stephen, but for a real shock looking at our painted figures upside down in sunlight's hard to beat!

Joking aside this is potentially a real issue in regard to entering shows in that it's possible the venue's lighting is harsher, highlighting flaws you didn't know were there (not uncommon at Euro Mil for example, because there's often bright horizontal daylight flooding one side of the display tables). Another thing is if the lighting is of a different kind, which can make for colour problems; I paint under a mixture of lights and when I check my work directly under the incandescent room light it can look quite different to under my working lamp.

Einion

 

[dinovision79]

Hi Stephen & Einion,

definiately good to think of where the figure will be displayed before you start and at least from time to time check the result in those conditions, I hate to wake up after all night painting as I never know what's waiting for me

Denes

 

[bosko b]

Hi guys,

I have had similar problems in the past, mainly concerning color variations depending on the type of lighting. I have tried painting under so called daylight bulbs, neon etc. but have always had most satisfactory results under natural lighting.
For some time now I have only been painting in daylight, so the colors are ok, but the problem Stephen described is still there. The figures look different under certain angels. My way of dealing with this problem is that I paint the figure so that it looks its best under what I consider normal angle, viewed from the top at an angel between 15 and 45 degrees.

Harsh light is still a problem for me too, mainly because it will change the contrasts, but I really dont think there is much you can do about it.

There certainly are some painters that can paint figures that look good in any kind of lighting, but imho that is more a question of practice and patience than anything else.

best regards

Luka

 

[Paul Kernan]

Originally posted by dinovision79@Nov 24 2006, 03:11 AM
I hate to wake up after all night painting as I never know what's waiting for me

Denes:
LOL. Never a truer statement has been made

 

[PJ Deluhery]

I have had the same experience - I think many of us have - of seeing your perfect colors go all funny in different lights. Like, Einnion, I have daylight, flourescent and incadescent lights on my work bench, and I constantly check colors under these lights to see how they will look. Also, nothing replaces looking at your figure in the actual sunlight. IMHO, if it looks good in the daylight, it will not look too bad in any other lighting situation.

 

[Stephen Ward]

Guys-

glad to see I'm not the only one.....I'm satisfied with my figures even under natural light, no worries there, but sometimes there are just random little things that come up when I see them under natural light versus under my lamps. Oh well. In the end, I'm happy with them, and it IS just a hobby, after all. Thanks guys, take care

 

[Blind Pew]

As I work shift, I find that I end up painting even relatively 'simple & quick' figure' under all sorts of lighting.....and you can get a difference..........

 

[Dan Morton]

Has anybody tried the Ott brand lamps that simulate daylight? My late father-in-law, a fine artist, had a similar problem with lighting in his studio. He solved it, more or less, by having two or three Ott brand lamps in different places in the work room. I know nothing about the one or two other brands that say they produce a similar product. What is unique about Ott is that their bulbs have been engineered to produce wavelengths of light that approximately simulate "natural" sunlight. It's really the bulbs that make the difference, producing a more yellow light vs. an incandescent or fluorescent bulb that produces a whiter and slightly bluer light. Like any lamp, you have to work within the cone of light being produced by an Ott lamp for it to benefit your work. Since I'm no longer painting, I'd be willing to sell my Ott lamp if anybody is interested. It doesn't have much value for sculpting.

All the best,
Dan