Fine artwork on display can often benefit from creative lighting designed to bring out the best features of the artwork. Various lighting techniques are available, depending upon how you want to feature the artwork on display. Using one of these techniques can help ensure your artwork is always displayed to its best advantage.
Natural Lighting
Avoid using natural light to highlight your artwork. While natural light is acceptable for quick views of your artwork, overexposure to natural light (the sun) can harm your artwork by fading it. Use natural light only to examine your artwork for short periods. Don't use it as the main lighting source.
Targeted Lighting
Targeted lighting techniques, with or without color, are ideal and can allow you to create focal points in your artwork using direction. Track lighting (overhead lighting that sits on a movable track) and directional lighting, such as lamps that allow you to set the angle of light, provide your choice of lighting effects. Adding colored light can bring out and feature colors in your artwork.
Incandescent and Halogen Lighting
Incandescent light bulbs are ideal because they bring out the richness of warmer colors (brown, gold, red) and textures of your artwork. Avoid extremely bright lighting when you use an incandescent bulb. Soft yellow or white light is best. To bring out cooler colors, use Halogen lighting. Combine the two types of lighting to bring out the best of both.
