Heeyoung Kim - Botanical Artist & Instructor

@brushwhisperer.bsky.social

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Botanical artist. Instructor. Designer. Founder of Heeyoung Kim Botanical Art Academy. RHS Botanical Art Show Gold Medalist. ASBA New York International Best of Show winner. Native flora & fauna advocate. Chicago Metropolitan Area, USA. www.heeyoungkim.net

A watercolor painting of a Large-flowing Trillium and Shooting Stars. White trillium and and pink shooting stars look beautiful together, even though shooting stars bloom a little later 😊.
Watercolor depiction of woodland floor with leaves, mushrooms and spring wildflowers. These are unsung heroes to maintain healthy ecosystems. I hope you enjoy envisioning them.
Spring woodland ephemerals painted in watercolor. Prairie Trilliums with maroon colored flowers and large motto leaves are composed with Question Mark butterflies and cut Blue Phlox around them. Enjoy these precious native spring flowers in Illinois.
An exhibition poster announcing my exhibit at Roger Tory Peterson institute, Jamestown, New York. Opening today, March 27, 5-7 pm. The poster describes spring wildflowers blooming with mushrooms around an old oak tree trunk. Two butterflies, eastern comma, sunbathing, too. Watercolor by Heeyoung Kim.
A watercolor painting depicting forest floor full of layered leaves and mushrooms. A butterfly, Eastern Comma emerging from them along with early spring ephemerals. Enjoy! 😊
A field sparrow painted in watercolor. It sits on a beach of a wild rose with bunch of red rose hips. I added Indian Grass as its color goes well with the sparrow while providing nest materials and food sources. I hope you enjoy it.
I am painting American Tree Sparrow, a tiny sparrow wintering in Illinois. They are so cute and enjoying seeds from native plants. The painting with winter plants looks simple with mostly shades of brown, but it is still charming and beautiful. Watercolor.
An elegant Cedar Waxing sitting on a branch of Pokeweed. It’s cinnamon and pale yellow colors are so pretty. But its head marking looks like it is wearing a pair of sunglasses. Another fun fact about Cedar Waxing: they eat ripe fruits so much and they sometimes end up getting drunken and fall asleep on the ground. Isn’t it funny?
A watercolor painting of a chestnut. Beautiful brown with shine in the outer skin in contrast to the spiky outer shell. I loved painting it as a symbol of abundance in the fall.
Piping Plover family planted for an exhibit at Waukegan History Museum at Carnegie. Subtle sand colored plovers are perfect to blend in the shore in disguise. So I painted natural gravels and sand with some woods. Come and see the opening exhibit this Friday September 12, 2-4 pm. Various paintings of plants and birds will be featured.
A honey bee in its actual size in watercolor. Presented next to a pencil point to show the scale. It looks very realistic and detailed, but it is actually minimally described. When too much paint applied, the tiny space will become messy and unrecognizable. Often I just need to know where to put one dot.
A native lily, Michigan Lily with bright orange red and dark maroon spots. I painted this in watercolor. Want to brighten up your day!
A brightly red colored chocolate cosmos painted by myself. A fully open blossom is composed with buds, new sprouts and wilting flowers to show the life cycle. Watercolor.
A little introduction 🤗. I love painting native plants, and bees, butterflies and other insects that rely on them. Birds can’t be ignored, of course, as all build a healthy ecosystem together. Glad to get connected to like-minded folks here.
Butterflies are in danger, according to a recently released survey…. I love to study (and paint) them… My heart aches ….. I don’t think I need to say further … This is a painting of Michigan Lily and Great Spangled Fritillary. Both are rare and becoming even rarer.
Bringing you a little piece of happiness with this bright red peony painting. In the middle of snow storm, even worse, in the middle of this political storm, I just wanted to brighten you up a little bit 🙏🏼🙏🏼 #botanicalart #ScieArt #floral #fightingfordemocracy
Winter is the poetry written by nature herself. Birds sing to it. Wind dances to it. My mind just follows the sound and rhythm. Then, my brush reads my thoughts. . . . that’s the birth of this painting: Downy #Woodpeckers, #chickadees in dry winter #prairie. Title: Winter Prairie In watercolor, 22”x30” Copyrighted by Heeyoung Kim 2025 Been busy with preparation for my Annual Botanical Exhibition. One step is done, the next step is making cards and catalogs and such! Everyone’s working hard 🤗 to make it happen. I am beyond grateful! It’s is very very cold here … Stay safe, everyone, wherever you are. #botanicalartist #botanicalart #naturalhistoryart #botanicalwatercolor #natureart #birdsinart #winter #oneearth
“Dead” plant stuff hold food for birds during winter, when food is scarce. Galls such as this goldenrod gall have insect larvae in them. You can see who knows what to do … 😊. My tiny brush again 🤓. This painting shows a cute downy woodpecker pecking on a goldenrod gall to get wasp larvae in winter. #birdsinart #botanicalart #naturalhistoryart #SciArt #natureart #conservation #oneearth
Finishing up the last painting in 2024. Been painting this for a few years, on and off. Many things I want to show in this, just like we want to see richly diverse wildlife in nature. Imagine delicate apple goals attached to white oak leaves, little #mushrooms, and acorns that little critters had munched on… Hope you all are finishing up 2024 with happiness and hope.
I hope you are heading into a great weekend! I want to share a cheerful gem today: a native shrub, #Serviceberry. I love painting its berries as much as birds love to eat them. Its dainty white flowers are beautiful, too. This #watercolor painting is still in progress but already showing a few matured red berries and cute fresh green leaves.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours! It’s been great to get connected with you! I am sharing a collage of my painting of Mourning Cloak, Fall Leaf, Black-capped Chickadee and Northern Cardinal. My very best wishes to you in this holiday season!
Bird’s Nest #Mushroom is a tiny yet mighty adorable mushroom that decomposes wood and play a vital role in ecosystem. It looks like a fairy’s tea cup after rain. Snails find a hiding place under a log. You can see a whole micro world here.