Purchase the right bulb
Have you ever noticed how a painting looks different in the morning than it does at night, or how it looks different on one side of the room or the other, or even looks different on your office computer compared to your home computer.
It's general knowledge that light exposure and surrounding colors of the wall will alter our perception of colors in a painting, although furniture, rugs, draperies or near by paintings or accessories of the room will also affect how we view colors in a painting.
Another often overlooked influence of our perception of colors in a painting is the lighting.
The big switch from Incandescent to Compact Fluorescent LED bulbs for general lighting has proven to be a real frustration for many art collectors and designers.
General Lighting is typically used for lighting large areas and LED bulbs are actually directional lighting.
LED bulbs are often blue in color and where designed to replacing accent lighting, recessed (can) lighting, spot light applications like track lighting and outdoor security spotlights. This will often wash out the colors of a painting and make it appear flat or pastel like and can flatten the wonderful texture of a impasto style painting. So be sure to purchase the specific color and warm or cool bulb for your specific area and use.
Thankfully, the lighting industry has now developed better LED bulbs more suited for lighting paintings.
Both kinds of LED Bulbs are available so be sure you purchase bulbs according to your specific lighting need.
Yes, I know easier said than done. A 50W incandescent bulb would do a good job lighting a small room, while a LED light bulb which may have the same lumen rating as a 50W incandescent bulb, would be focused at a spot and would do a terrible job of lighting a small room.
To really know what you're getting is to look at how they compare it to an incandescent or halogen bulb.
Compare photos showing both types of bulbs.
The best way to tell the color of a light is to look for the rating in Kelvins (K) and use this guide.
For a point of reference, incandescent warm white bulbs are usually rated at approx 3500-3800K.
Here is the Kelvin Color Temperature Chart with suggested moods and applications.
Below is a Kelvin Chart using Light splashes on a wall.
Here's a sample of some colors you can expect and how they compare to an incandescent bulb:
Here is another helpful Color Chart
You can also check out these great articles on Color Temp and Computer Monitor Calibration.
Color Temperature: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_temperature
Monitor Calibration: http://www.colorwiki.com/wiki/Monitor_Calibration_FAQ
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