It [seems|appears} that after spending so much for a work of art such as a watercolor, for instancea lot of people simply stop thinking of what is appropriate for it immediately afterwards, beyond hanging it in the wall. Displaying and art lighting the art with picture frame lights turns out to be the end of the endeavor and nothing more remains but to admire the painting. It may not be incorrect, but such is definitely lacking, in that with the mistaken lighting system, the painting will not last as it should, nor show itself in the optimum, well, light. All art lights are not the same.

Sun’s light?

Nature-produced light —sunshine- is the optimum for vision, but not always for watercolors and other [works|pieces} of art. First, natural light is difficult to control. It can be brilliant one moment and cloudy the next, depending on the vagaries of the heavens. Second, its ultraviolet and infrared rays can do substantial damage to artworks, particularly watercolors, pastels and photographs, and fabrics. The ultraviolet rays fade the hues in a short time, faster with direct sunlight, called bleaching which all of us are familiar with. It is thus not appropriate for all art.

Incandescent light?

It has its positives and downsides as well. Incandescent lights or those with filaments that emit the light enhance the warm tones yellow, orange, brown and red, but [renders|makes} the cooler hues rather dull. If the paintings or artworks are predominantly warm in color tones, incandescent light might be suitable. Another downside is its greater levels of heat radiation compared with other lighting systems because of the glowing filament. The heat would, comparatively sooner than later, damage the artwork.

What about phosphor lighting?

Fluorescents produce light by making phosphors within a glass tube glimmer with ultraviolet radiation from an inert gas plus some vaporized mercury that are ionized with electric current. Since it is ultraviolet energy that makes the initial power, fluorescent lighting favors the cooler tones of the color spectrum: the blues and violets and greens, thus minimizing the other colors in contrast. Fluorescents naturally also radiate high amounts of ultraviolet light which can damage paintings so like sunlight. Finally, it does not emit all colors of the spectrum, so that poses a whole new predicament for the display.

Is halogen system the best?

Halogen lighting is simply a variation of incandescent lighting and uses halogen gas to force the tungsten vapor of the filament adhere back to the filament, extending lamp usability. The action however needs higher heat amounts, so a halogen lamp is comparatively hotter than other light sources. This can damage the art by dehydrating the oil and making it splinter, so museums use movement detectors to switch lights off and on as needed.

So what is over-all most apt?

Until lately, light emitting diodes (LED) emit light only in primary tones. Chinese scientists some years ago mixed blue and yellow in the right blend to produce white, and white LEDs created a phenomenal explosion of applications, including illuminating art pieces. It is bright, low emission, has long life, no heat and ray emissions to damage art, and is low cost. It being new, it is not as yet prevalent and still unproven over time. Nevertheless, it appears to be the most suited system for everyone and everything.

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