Studio Lighting Matters!!

Over the years I’ve gotten questions from students repeatedly about the best way to light their studio. I’d pretty much tried every configuration, formula, magic bulbs with magic Kelvin numbers. And to be honest none of it was great. It just seemed to always be a struggle. At the San Diego Plein Air Convention I stopped by a booth in the Expo Center to check out yet one more lighting solution I hadn’t seen before.  I hauled home a cool gizmo called the Easel Light and the first time I used it I was totally wowed. I loved my smaller model Easel Light so much I had to give the ‘boss’ a try – the full-size Method Light. If we have any daylight at all coming into our studios one of the biggest challenges is that the angle and temperature of the light changes throughout the day mixing with whatever artificial light we’re using and then if we paint into the night we’re left with only the artificial light. It’s a moving target. When I was tired of walking into the studio in the morning, looking at my painting, going…”Say whaaaa?????” and having to repaint the passage from the night before I just finally gave up and would quit painting every day once the sun went down.

So these cool lights made by Method Light have 11 color temperature settings and also dimmer settings. As the daylight coming into the studio changes I can actually adjust my Method Light to compensate so I’m keeping the same lighting on my painting throughout the session. I can also adjust the temperature of the light to the light it is going to be viewed under if I know where it’s going to hang. My Easel Light version has a battery pack and I use it constantly. I use it in the studio for a fill light, travel with it when I’m giving workshops. It can be used painting en Plein air day or night to even out the lighting on your canvas. The Method Light can be screwed into any type of fixture. I just screw it into one of my photography lighting setups and move it around the studio to get just the right coverage. So…you could say…yeah, I’m pretty stoked to have finally found a solution to truly excellent lighting! Here’s a link to the original post on Lyn's website: (Click Here)