Weekly contents and dates:

Week 1: January 9, Understanding tools, light, Tonal Value (Gradation), light and shadow. Week 2: January 16, How to draw 3 major flower types. Measuring techniques for free hand drawing. Week 3: January 23, Perspective and foreshortened form 1 - Flower. Week 4: February 6, Perspective and foreshortened form 2 - Leaf. Week 5: February 13, Composition and how to create a scientifically informative botanical drawing.

The most sought-after drawing workshop year after year….

An Intensive course with lots of detailed technique demos, meaningful assignments and constructive feedback. Informative PDFs prepared by Kim will help students understand the drawing process naturally and logically. Kim’s deep understanding on the medium helps students experience the whole drawing process from a completely different perspective. Many students from the past workshops told that they went through a breakthrough moment via this course.

PDF and Zoom link will be emailed the day before of each session. Classes will be recorded for students to review. 5 Thursdays, 10 am - 1 pm, CT, Fee: $310. For registration, Click Here

Starter’s Kit #1-2: Furthering Drawing Skills, Graphite, March 13 & 20, Zoom

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 use the relationship between elements to create visual impact, and more.

The specimen for the first session: Cyclamen flower, lighter in color (I use light pink one). And a large and simple one is preferable to focus on shadow rather than small and overly frilly one. For the second session, the instructor will use a bunch of grapes that shows a good light/shadow, and complex relationships between the individual grapes. 

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. (The session will be recorded.)

Fee (for both session): $125. Click Here for Registration

Starter’s Kit: #1-3: Color Translation and Value Relationship, Aug 2 & 9, Zoom

After requiring basic skills in drawing botanical subjects with a good understanding of light source, these additional 2 session will offer the opportunity to study how to translate colors in values and the complex relationships between elements.

Students will choose a proper specimen via further communication upon registration. Proper for advanced beginners and intermediate level, and those who want to acquire refined drawing skills beyond basics. Materials list will be sent after registration.

2 Saturdays, August 2 & 9, 10 am - 1 pm, CT. Fee (for both sessions): $125. Click for Registration

You Can and Should Control Everything! Watercolor paintings in general look loose and spontaneous, which is the charm of the medium. When it comes to a traditional botanical art/illustration style, however, it is far from being loose and spontaneous. Perfect renderings including ‘clean-but-not-hard’ edges, soft blending and gradation, accurate descriptions of the plant subject in shape, color and texture, etc are critical to create a botanical artwork of good quality.

In this series of three courses, Heeyoung Kim will guide the students with simple, visual, logical and scientific explanations about watercolor painting process, which will help them internalize the techniques naturally.

Suitable for beginners and those who are still not quite sure about how to handle all the watercolor materials and techniques, even after some experiences.

PDF and Zoom link will be emailed the day before of each session. Classes will be recorded for students to review. 3 Thursdays for each course, 10 am - 1 pm, CT. Each course: $190. Register for all 3 courses and get 10% discount ($513). For registration, Click Here and select the option.

Course Contents and Dates

Course 1: April 3, 10 & 17. Fundamentals of watercolor painting. Tools and how they interact under the artist’s control, and how to achieve 3 dimensionality

Course 2: May 1, 8 & 15. Focus on flowers. Practice: Achieving translucency, 3 dimensional form building though smart uses of color temperature. Rich and intense color… edge control and more.

Course 3: June 5, 12 & 19. Leaves with linear and net veins. Intuitive green mixing, painting leaves with various venation types

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: $250 Click for Registration

Project 1, 2025: Tiny Superstar, Piping Plover

• Jan. 21, 28, Feb. 11 & 18

• The tiny shore bird, piping plover, is one of the most beloved birds among birders and conservationists alike. ….

Project 2: Learning a Variety of Shore Birds

• March 25, April 1, 15 & 22

• After the first step toward our study of shore birds through the adorable piping plover, we are ready to dive deep into the world of shore birds. It’s a new territory to us, but we will learn one by one in this workshop. The instructor will research birds found in dunes along the lake and guide students to create their own composition in watercolor or preferred medium. Registration is open now.

• If you like to join as a new student in this ongoing program, contact Heeyoung, please!

Project 3: To be announced

Project 4: To be announced

Project 5:To be announced

Project 6: To be announced