In the spirit of natural history artists of the past, contemporary botanical artist, Heeyoung Kim documents native plants of Midwerstern USA (Project 200). Her exquisite and deftly painted compositions portray native woodland and prairie plants. Giving priority to rare and endngered species, she also paints common ones when they have high ecological value. 

Drawing her specimens in situ with precise measurements, Kim works in watercolor, ink or graphite pencil, depending upon the characteristic of each plant. 

After her first solo exhibition in 2011, she quickly gained a reputation as a wildflower botanical artist, winning several prestigious awards including Gold Medal (Royal Horticultural Society, London, 2012),  Best of the Show (the American Society of Botanical Artists/Horticultural Society of New York, 2012), and Diane Bouchier Artist Award for Excellence in Botanical Art (The American Society of Botanical Artists, 2012). 

Heeyoung's 3 watercolor paintings have been selected for inclusion in Transylvania Florilegium, (a wildflower documentation project of the Prince of Wales) presently being created under the aegis of the Prince's School of Traditional Arts to record in a permanent way the flora of Transylvania. 

Kim is exclusively represented by Joel Oppenheimer Gallery, Chicago, IL., as the first and only living artist. President of the gallery, Mr Oppenheimer: "..... When I first saw her work, I immediately recognized that she has the talent on par with the Masters that we represent - Basilius Besler, Priscilla Susan Bury, Pierre-Joseph Redoute, Dr. Robert  John Thornton- to name a few."