“Drawing helps us slow down, look closely, and connect with each other and the world.”
“Brief but Spectacular” section on Wendy’s Drawn Journalism work`
Wendy MacNaughton’s work is based in the practices of drawing, social work, and storytelling. She combines the practice of deep looking, listening, and drawing to create stories of often overlooked people, places, and things. Wendy has worked on varied projects across mediums and fields, and in collaboration with numerous groups and individuals, but one thing stays consistent: Wendy uses drawing as a vehicle for connection.
“Brief but Spectacular” section on Wendy’s Drawn Journalism work`
As a visual columnist for The New York Times and California Sunday Magazine, Wendy drew stories everywhere from high school cafeterias to Guantanamo Bay.
She has authored and drawn two books, How To Say Goodbye and Meanwhile in San Francisco, and illustrated many others, including the #1 New York Times Bestseller Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat and New York Times Bestseller The Gutsy Girl by Caroline Paul.
She is the Creator and Drawer-in-Chief of DrawTogether, a participatory drawing show for kids, and The Grown-Ups Table, lessons and community for drawing-minded adults. She is also the co-founder of Women Who Draw with Julia Rothman, an advocacy database launched in 2016 to increase visibility and opportunities for underrepresented artists, illustrators, and cartoonists.
She lives in Oakland, but you can often find her on the road, speaking at conferences, universities, or companies, or in her mobile studio (built inside the back of a Honda Element) doing the thing she likes best: drawing.
Now a powerful platform with over 5,000 professional women/non-binary identifying illustrators, artists and cartoonists, Women Who Draw (WWD) is a database used by major publications around the world to identify new talent.
Since Wendy and Julia Rothman launched WWD in 2016, the resource has helped change the face of commercial arts, promoting less visible artists and making it impossible for editors, creative directors, and art directors to say “I’d hire more… if I could find them.” WWD prioritizes artists of color and LGBTQ+ artists in its search functions to give historically less privileged artists a boost.
More than just a database, WWD is an advocacy platform, educating decision makers around their creative hiring, mentoring young artists on fair fees and rights in freelancing, and partnering with major brands including Planned Parenthood, Pottery Barn and Sephora to amplify marginalized artist’s voices.
Wendy is represented by Charlotte Sheedy Literary. Please contact Charlotte@SheedyLit.com
For press, please contact vanessa@MonaCreative.co
For speaking and workshops, please contact Studio@WendyMacNaughton.com
Best American Non-Required Reading, Ed. Dave Eggers
McSweeney's Quarterly
Best American Infographics 2014, Ed. Gareth Cook
Illustration Award 2020
Best Design for Knives & Ink
SFAH awards
Artist-in-Residence, Zen Hospice
McSweeney's The Goods
Best American Infographics 2013, Ed. Gareth Cook
Outstanding Service Award, Art Center College of Design
The New York Times Best of Illustration 2020
Awesome Grant
Artist-in-Residence, Intersection for the Arts
