The following is a brief article written for a local group of painters.

In this case I'm referring to the lighting used to illuminate the area where the minis are painted and not the light effect that we paint onto the figure. A well lit painting area is a big help in seeing all of the detail that the sculptors have created on the miniature. When deciding on light sources for the paint area I considered, the amount of light produced, the color of the light produced, the quality of the light (hard - soft), the amount of heat produced by the lights and the cost.
 
When comparing illumination levels it's good to get information on the amount of light     produced by the bulb/lamp as expressed in Lux, Lumens or foot-candles. A fifty watt quartz halogen bulb puts out more light than a 100 watt conventional incandescent bulb. Check manufacturers ratings for this info..

There is some debate regarding the value of color corrected lamps that simulate daylight for use in miniature painting. For those interested in accurate color lighting for their painting area a good place to start is with a definition of daylight. When discussing the color of light, daylight is defined as the combination of skylight and sunlight. A normal sunny day is approximately 13,600 foot-candles of full spectrum light at 5000K. Full spectrum means that all colors are present in equal amounts. Under these conditions we perceive white as being pure and unbiased. This is what we want in our lights, pure whites without color cast.

The Color Rendering Index (CRI) of a lamp/bulb compares the spectrum of light produced by lamps/bulbs to that of daylight. On the scale of 1-100 the higher the number the closer the light is to daylight. Bulbs/lamps with a CRI in the 90-99 range will give us good clean light. If a manufacturer's bulb/lamp is truly "full spectrum" they usually will list the CRI in their specifications. When they do not list the CRI it is often because it just isn't one of their finer qualities. The lamps that I use are rated at a CRI of 98-99 and are 4100K. There are some interesting studies relative to the phenomenon known as the "Kruithof Curve" that explain why we perceive the color of light differently under lower levels of illumination as opposed to bright daylight situations but let it suffice for me to say that I have a very accurate light source that makes my whites look, true white. These are the same lights used by many museums to illuminate works of art. There are other bulbs/lamps from various manufacturers that are very good as well. Ott, Solux, Chromalux, Lumichrome and Dazor are among brands worth looking at. Several manufacturers like GE and Phillips produce Nyodimium bulbs under various names that claim to be close to daylight. These are not full spectrum bulbs but an improvement over conventional incandescent lights.

Some painters prefer a hard directional light while others like a more diffuse source of illumination. This is just a matter of personal preference. My task lamps provide a directional light while the bounced overhead light gives me some softer fill light. When I want to check colors I use the high CRI task lamps alone. With all of my lights on at the same time it is still comfortable in my little area.

Is accurate color lighting worth the trouble and expense? To me it is, but I have other uses for this kind of lighting besides mini painting. I know there are painters out there who can paint better with candlelight than I can with my setup. Every bit helps though!

One last note. It will not help very much to have accurately balanced lighting if it is getting bounced off of lime green painted walls onto your paint station.