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I use a standard spring-armed desk lamp when I'm painting. I use a 75 watt bulb. Plenty of light, but also a LOT of heat. That much heat blasting on me constantly wears me out. And I'm positive it has some effects on the paint on both the brush and the model as I'm painting.

I was considering picking up an LED bulb to cut way down on the heat. Has anyone else tried this? Would sure be nice to be able to paint for 30 minutes without overheating.

You could do LED, or you could also do an equivalent fluorescent (but one that simulates the daylight).

Yeah, with that much heat, that close, it'll tend to dry your paints faster than normal....not to mention drying YOU out faster than normal too!

http://wappellious.blogspot.com
Wappell just did a blog post about this, he seems to like them.

Most of the LED bulbs I have been getting are for the general 'environment' of the work area. For the 'up close' stuff, I am using LED magnifier lights, which seem to crank out less heat. The light is also very true 'North' light, which painters have craved for hundreds of years

I just wish I had found them sooner! On the plus side, it means that filming battle reports just got a whole lot easier...

I use a standard fluorescent light...since that's is the most common venue lighting where your army is being judged.

LEDs are the way to go, if heat is your main issue. I use a CFL-style full-spectrum bulb and while the light is great (as is the price - think I paid $6 for it and it's lasted me years), it runs nearly as hot as an incandescent. With the clamshell lamp head so close to my face, I usually end up sweating after a few minutes, too.

I use an LED in the same setup (Spring armed desk lamp) and I haven't had any trouble with drying out paints or the like yet. The LED bulb only really gets hot around the metal base cover, but the bulb itself seems to exude no heat - and I keep mine on for hours at a time. The light quality is pretty good as well, being both brighter and clearer than a standard bulb.

I do want to emphasize that my blog article was more about photography and shooting videos. However, I have been painting with the LED magnifier lights for years, and have had no issues with lighting differences at tournaments and contests.

Also, I paint for 10-18 hours in a given day, 7 days a week, so power consumption becomes a big deal at that point!

Inquisitor Wappellious wrote:

Also, I paint for 10-18 hours in a given day, 7 days a week, so power consumption becomes a big deal at that point!

wut

Such is the life of a mini painter

I started switching to LED about a year ago and really love them.

i use one of these:

https://www.google.com/shopping/product/1437010531304755844?q=Magnifying+lamp&safe=off&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.51495398,d.b2I,pv.xjs.s.en_US.M4-36_38X9A.O&biw=1366&bih=643&tch=1&ech=1&psi=HzgjUserB-ih2QWUoICABA.1378039834640.5&sa=X&ei=LDgjUuunKob42gXur4CgDg&ved=0CK8BEPICMAw

Though i have no idea why its THAT expensive on that website, i got it local for like 25bucks. I rarely use the magnifying part since it kinda throws off your depth perception but the lightbulb it has is very bright, white, and smooth and no heat (or at least so little i dont notice)