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David,
Incandescent lights are yellow, and do not translate to ambient north light, which has a broader spectrum. I find my regular florescent (which are actually on the pink side...) to be truer to the cool north light (even closer that the OTT which tend to be warm...). I also typically use only north light, with some filler of florescent. My main point remains the same. Until 100 years ago, the only light they had was natural north light. If you like your OTT lights fine, just don't flood your studio with them. My comment remains the same, most studio have TOO MUCH LIGHT.
I found that when I painted in my typical overlit room, I usually had to sell the portrait with an attachable light for the frame or to help the client figure out where to have tract lighting on the painting. The many times I would bring a portrait into a home, set it up against the fireplace in the living room, and have to go find a light so the client could see the painting. Rembrandt's "The Night Watch" glows off the canvas. It needs no extra light source. It traps what little light is in a room and reflects it back. My paintings do, too. (I won't go into my theory on under painting here...)
BTW, I paint in a dark room during the point in the painting when I make value adjustments. Cadmium colors do not read true in bright light, they appear lighter in value than they really are. Blues tend to read lighter. (To test true values, see them in B&W.)
Paintings are not 3D objects, they are 2D trying to emulate 3D effects. Try turning the lights off and painting with low ambient light. Try adjusting your light values so they shine out. See how your middle tones disappear into background, adjust them so you have a truer middle. Turn off the lights and see how well your painting retains it's value massing. Believe me, if you paint for low light, your paintings look stunning in mid to high light situations. The reverse is not necessarily true.
Peggy
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