What shade of orange is a monarch butterfly? What shape are a robin’s feathers? This is what artist Jane Kim thinks about while she works. As a science illustrator, Kim creates beautiful and painstakingly accurate portrayals of plants and animals. Her work helps educate the public about the natural world.
Kim’s most famous project is a two-story mural called The Wall of Birds in the visitor center at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York. Kim started working on the mural in 2014. The Wall of Birds includes life-sized paintings of more than 240 birds—one from every living bird family, or category of related species. They stretch across a giant world map, with each bird shown in its native region. It took Kim almost three years to complete the mural!
More recently, Kim has been painting outdoor murals of animals that migrate, or travel long distances at certain times of the year. Her murals follow each species’ migration path. Read on to learn what Kim told Scholastic MATH about how she makes her art!
What shade of orange is a monarch butterfly? What shape are a robin’s feathers? This is what artist Jane Kim thinks about. She is a science illustrator who creates beautiful and accurate plant and animal drawings. Her work helps educate the public about the natural world.
Kim’s most famous project is a two-story mural called The Wall of Birds. It is in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology visitor center in Ithaca, New York. The Wall of Birds includes life-sized paintings of more than 240 birds. There is one from every living bird family, or category of related species. They stretch across a giant world map. Each bird is shown in its native region. It took Kim almost three years to complete the mural!
Kim also painted outdoor murals of animals that migrate. Her murals follow each species’ long-distance path taken at certain times of the year. Learn more about how Kim she makes her art!