The more I teach, the more I learn! Teaching online is a new and exciting experience for me. I am spending countless hours in my studio talking to an invisible classroom as I create the videos. When I am face to face with a group of people it is much easier to tell if they understand what I am trying to teach them. Usually there are questions asked and answered right on the spot. Now I post my classes and wait for people to post their drawings on Facebook or directly to me via an email. I now answer the questions in the form of blog posts or videos.

One of the recurring confusions and questions I get is how to set a light for illuminating botanical and natural science subjects. It can be as confusing and controversial as interpreting the Bible! Everyone seems to have a different way of setting up a light to convey form and it is always up for debate! I developed a class called Light on Form for the Botanical Illustration Class at the New York Botanical Garden over 15 years ago to help students who were struggling with the light source. This fall I will be teaching this course at the American Society of Botanical Artists annual conference in Miami. Here is a short video I did explaining how I set up my light source in my studio. I hope you enjoy it!

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