Tips For Illuminating Your Personal Art Collection
A picture light illuminates paintings and other art work, and is generally a shaded, metal light fixture used to present these pieces in their most optimal light. They are often seen in galleries, but picture lights can be just as welcome for the work of art hanging above the living room mantelpiece.
Although it may sound imposing, a proper light will never interfere with anyone's view of a work. Rather, such methods of lighting should be sleek in design and unpretentious, so as not to draw the eye away from the artwork they are meant to highlight. Many modern projection lights strive to accent the accompanying art by shining rectangle, square or polygon-shaped pools of light which seem to stop near the edge of the canvas, giving the painting a sort of inner glow.
There is more than one way to mount a projection light. Those who prefer a more professional look are likely to opt for mounted lights because these are much more aesthetically pleasing than their mounted counterparts. Mounted lights are attached to the wall rather than the picture frame, and available in a range of shapes and sizes, making it easy to select the lights that are exactly right for your home collection. Clamp-on lights are generally attached to the picture's frame via one or two spring or variable clamps. The advantage here is portability; clamp-on lights can be used to illuminate more than just art work and they attach just as easily to desks, bars, poles, shelves or easels. There is also a free-standing variety which needs no mounting whatsoever.
These lights can come with or without a number of features, such as an adjustable arm, projection lens, adjustable diffuser, telescoping arm, multi-position joint or a barn door. Carefully consider the options you would like your own picture lights to have, as these can help you direct the light exactly to where you would like it to be. Lights of the most adjustable variety can be turned, bent, swiveled and twisted. Another important option is the dimmer; this will help create the best sort of lighting in contrast to that of the room, depending on what time of day it is. There are some lights which can be dimmed via remote control.
When hanging the lights you have chosen, remember that it is best to direct the bulb at the work so that there is no resulting glare or reflection on the frame's glass. Also, the light should be positioned so that the bulb is not visible to anyone in the room. Museums which use these sorts of lights generally utilize true daylight light bulbs, with color temperatures between 3500 K and 4100K. Do not use ultraviolet or infrared bulbs, as these can potentially be damaging to the art work they are meant to enhance. Incidentally, it is important to hang paintings away from any walls that receive direct sunlight. Select the type of lighting that best fits both your art collection and the room in which it hangs. It is a good idea to measure the width of each painting to determine what size light is a good fit.
About the Author
Stewart Wrighter is an entrepreneur who runs a large group of websites that specialize in high end items such as a picture light site. For more information on picture lights go to http://www.picturelight.org/ .
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