Heeyoung Kim Botanical Art: Wildflowers of Prairies and Woods
Current exhibition at Roger Tory Peterson Institute
Exhibition extended until Sept. 20. I am featured in this special exhibition alongside with the legendary Roger Tory Peterson’s phenomenal artworks. Click the image to read more.
Upcoming Classes
Experienced Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced Level. Click the image for details
Via Zoom, sessions recorded for review
Always wondered how to translate colors in black and white?
What if you drew a light yellow flower, but the viewers see it as a dark purple flower? Well, that is a pretty tricky matter, isn’t it? Let’s talk about it in this workshop. We will study how to translate colors into values and the complex relationships between elements in a drawing.
Students will choose a proper specimen via further communication upon registration. Proper for intermediate and advanced level, and those who want to acquire refined drawing skills beyond basics. Materials list will be sent after registration. All sessions will be recorded for review.
Dates: November 21 & 28 (2 Saturdays), 2 pm - 5 pm, CT. Fee: $130
The class will take place on Zoom platform.
Before proceeding with registration, please, read details about the class and its terms and conditions at Class Overview . For questions, Contact Heeyoung Kim
Graphite pencil, intermediate and experienced beginning level
Do you want to learn more about graphite drawing to further your fundamental drawing skills?
These 2 sessions will offer good opportunities to study how to apply all the basic skills, how to analyze the way light hit the surface on your specimen, how to analyze the relationship between elements to create visually appealing results, and more. Proper for those who have basic drawing skills (those who finished my Drawing Fundamentals in the past), for those who want to brush up drawing skills, or for those who are still not quite sure how to handle light and shadows and such. All sessions will be recorded for review.
The specimen: A bunch of grapes that shows a good light/shadow, and complex relationships between the individual grapes.
Dates: October 3 & 17 (2 Saturdays), 2 pm - 5 pm, CT. Fee: $130
Before proceeding with the registration, please, read the details about the Zoom class, and its the terms and conditions at Class Overview. For questions, contact Heeyoung Kim.
Case Study to Improve Composition: Easy to Say, but Hard to Achieve
Do this! Do that! You can find plenty of ‘guidelines’ regarding creating a good composition, but those rules and guidelines don’t work like a ‘cure-al’. Each piece is unique; hence, it should be treated as a unique case.
In this small group setting class attendees will bring a work in progress and an open mind to find a way to improve the composition and develop it into a flowing and balanced piece of artwork through constructive critiques and suggestions. 5 Saturdays, every other week to allow enough time to work in between the sessions.
Dates: Aug 29, Sep 12, 26, Oct 10 & 24. 2 - 4 pm, CT, Fee: $350
Best for intermediate & advanced level, but all levels are workable.
Before proceeding with the registration, please, read the details about how Zoom classes work, and its the terms and conditions at Class Overview. For questions, Contact Heeyoung Kim
Ongoing Classes
Various media at all levels
Click the image for details
Via Zoom, sessions recorded for review
You can have an award winning artist as your personal mentor! Renowned botanical artist, Heeyoung Kim has distinctive style of drawing and painting demonstrating her mastery of media she uses in traditional and scientifically accurate botanical art. Her understanding on the botanical specimens adds precision and accuracy to her art. As a founder of Heeyoung Kim Botanical Art Academy, she has been teaching graphite pencil, pen-and-ink and watercolor to all levels of students locally and nationwide. Now, she offers one-on-one mentorship to aspiring botanical art learners from distance using Zoom platform. She will help students with variety of topics such as improving and learning painting and drawing skills, and developing their own projects as an artist.
Fee: $385 for 4 sessions ( each session is one and a half hour long). $100 for 1 session.
Session Date and Time will be discussed individually. Please, Contact Heeyoung for further questions before registration!
Continuing Study Group to Develop Independent projects…
The courses in this section are designed for students who want to explore regional naive flora and fauna with broad ecological themes to create their own independent projects with Heeyoung’s instructions.
Who’s eating what? Who needs that? What’s the ecological role of that plant? Most of Heeyoung’s painting subjects for this series are developed from these questions. Students will choose the same or similar native plants and associated faunal elements with advice/recommendations from Kim. Habitats are often included in the context.
Heeyoung’s compositions are usually large and complex, but students adopt the complexity to suit their skill level or time they can devote for painting. Students can participate in this courses regardless of their regions and study their native plants using Kim’s instructions.Each project: 4 weeks, 10 am - 1 pm, CT. Fee for each project: $250 USD
This series is presented via Zoom.
Select Project you want to resister!
Project 1, 2025: Tiny Superstar, Piping Plover
Jan. 21, 28, Feb. 11 & 18
Project 2: Learning a Variety of Shore Birds
March 25, April 1, 15 & 22
Project 3: Lowering the Eye Level
Aug 19, 26, Sept 9 & 16
Project 4: Lowering the Eye Level #2
Dec 9, 16, 2025 & Jan 6, 20, 2026
Project 5: Lowering the Eye Level #
May 26, June 2, 16 & 23, 20
Currently, we are having Feedback Sessions to prepare for our upcoming exhibit.
Before proceeding with registration, read “How Kim’s Zoom Workshops Work” at Class Overview . For questions, Contact Heeyoung Kim
Register separately or choose the bundle to get discounts! Select your choice for each workshop or bundles.
Bees: Learning about Bees: Nov 19, 2026, 10 am - 1 pm, CT. Fee: $70
Butterflies: All about Butterflies: Dec 5, 10 & 17, 2026, 10 am - 1 pm, CT. Fee: $190
Birds: The First Step toward Bird Painting: Jan 7, 21 & 28, 2027, 10 am - 1 pm, CT. Fee: $190
This series of workshops are designed to help students who want to draw and paint pollinators and birds, but can’t figure out how to do it correctly. Heeyoung’s easy-to-follow instructions and demonstrations will guide them to approach them with confidence by studying the anatomy of those complex little bodies. Students will be able to open their horizon in their selection of subject matters once they gain confidence in painting their favorite pollinators and birds.
Learn More about each workshop at Class Listing
For Intermediate & Advanced Level, 2026, Zoom
Birds and Botanicals
Next workshop will be announced soon…
In the context of “Eco-Botanical”, this course is designed to help students expand their painting theme beyond pure botanicals by adding birds to the composition. In this series Heeyoung Kim shares valuable tips she has gathered through her long experiences dealing with these subjects.
2 workshops in the past: Chickadee and Pine & Scarlet Tanager and Elderberry were delightful :). 3 Thursdays, 10 am - 1 pm, CT
Composition Clinic
A Case Study in a Small Group: Contact Heeyoung to join any time!
This workshop is designed for those who want to improve & expand the composition in botanical artwork. In this one of a kind class setting with maximum 6 attendees, each will receive constructive critiques and suggestions from Heeyoung Kim to work on works in progress. Suitable for intermediate and advanced level. 5 sessions on Saturdays, 2 - 4 pm, CT.
Dates: Aug 29, Sep 12, 26, Oct 10 &24. Contact Heeyoung to join anytime.
Advanced Watercolor: Botanicals in Ecological Context
Study Group with Heeyoung Kim- Current Project: Lowering the Eye Level #3
Want to develop your own collection and push the limit?
Students in this course explore regional native flora and fauna with broad ecological themes to create their own independent projects with Heeyoung’s instructions. Each project: 4 weeks, 10 am - 1 pm, CT. $250. Advanced and intermediate level
Lowering The Eye Level… #3: Seed Dispersal
May 26, June 2, 16 & 23, 2026 . Preparing for a new potential exhibition, we will study the seed dispersal mechanisms of plants… If interested, contact Heeyoung Kim (Image shown here is just an example of the instructor’s paintings.) Learn more about this series, Go to Class Listing
Currently we are having Feedback Sessions to prepare for our exhibition.
One-on-One Critique and Mentorship
Award winning botanical artist as your mentor…
Award winning contemporary botanical artist, Heeyoung Kim has distinctive style of drawing and painting demonstrating her mastery of media she uses in traditional and scientifically accurate botanical art…. Learn More, Click Here
Monday Open Workshop: In-Person
In-Person Class at Brushwood Center
This course is the unique feature of Heeyoung Kim Botanical Art Academy suitable for botanical artists who want to move forward in their projects/careers. Kim’s experiences help students … Learn More, Click Here
Meet the Artist: Heeyoung Kim
Botanical Artist, Instructor, designer, Native Plant Advocate
Heeyoung Kim is a contemporary botanical artist who specializes in native flora and fauna in the prairies and woodlands. Her authentic compositions have been recognized with many awards internationally. She is represented by Joel Oppenheimer Gallery in downtown Chicago as the first and only living artist. She teaches and curates exhibitions with her students …. Read More
Project 200: Documenting Wildflowers of Prairies and Woods
In the spirit of natural history artists in the past, contemporary botanical artist, Heeyoung Kim documents native plants of Midwestern USA (Project 200). Her exquisite and deftly painted compositions portray native woodland and prairie plants. Giving priority to rare and endangered species, she also paints common ones when they have high ecological values. To view the image bank of her paintings of prairies and woods, go Project 200.
All images and written contents are copyrighted by Heeyoung Kim. Unauthorized use or duplication without written permission is prohibited. Contact the artist for inquiries.