Current and Upcoming Botanical Art Classes by Heeyoung Kim
Botanical Drawing and Painting for Beginners, 2025
Drawing Fundamentals for Beginners, Zoom, 5 Thursdays, Jan - Feb
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
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.
“Drawing Fundamentals for Beginners’ is a great entrée into the botanical world. You are a special teacher that can show both the macro (elegant form) and micro (technique/measurements) and how they work together to create art. I’ve truly enjoyed this class.”
Additional 2 Sessions: 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
Watercolor for Beginners: 3 Courses - Zoom, April - June
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
Special Series for Intermediate and Experienced Beginning Level
3 Workshops: How to improve your watercolor painting skills _ Schedules for 2025 to be announced
Advanced Watercolor: Botanicals in Ecological Context
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. In 2025 a variety of birds will become the subjects of this ongoing workshop, as selected artists who have been studying under Heeyoung Kim Botanical Art will work on a group project. (Details will be announced later.) In the new year, this “relatively small and simple” project will be a good starter in watercolor. The subtle and utterly delicate structure, color and texture will offer valuable opportunities to practice watercolor techniques required. (Images shown here are just example of the instructor’s paintings.). Registration is open now
If you are interested in joining this ongoing Tuesday Advanced Watercolor Zoom workshop, contact me, please!
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
One-On-One Critique And Mentorship
Monday Open Workshop: In-Person
Back to 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 in various aspects including creating botanical arts and practical fields such as exhibitions, teaching career, product development …
When you have questions about your ongoing or new botanical projects, or need help/suggestions, this is the right one for you!
Time extended: 10 am - 3 pm. Fee: $75 per session
Schedule: January 8, 15, 22 & 19, 2024
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. Her understanding on the botanical specimens adds precise and accurate scientificc information 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 leves of students locally and nationwide.
Session Date and Time will be set after discussion. Contact Heeyoung before registration. Contact Heeyoung
Fee: $385 for 4 sessions. $100 for one session
Guest Artist Workshop With Other venues, 2024- Contact Kim for request
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2 Fridays, 1/13 & 1/27 and Saturday, 1,28, 2023. Registration at NYBG websiteDescription text goes here
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March 24 - 26, 2023, Registration at the arboretum website
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Mobil, Alabama, Oct. 13, 2023
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Mobil, Alabama, Oct 12, 2023
Botanical artist, Heeyoung Kim ©Heeyoung Kim 2024
All written contents and images are copyrighted by Heeyoung Kim. All unauthorized usages are strictly prohibited. ©Heeyoung Kim 2024