Wendy MacNaughton

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.

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.