Hi, I’m Jennifer. In 2008 I named my business AugustWren. To be truthful I didn’t like my work enough to put my real name all over whatever work I was doing, but happily I’ve since grown into both my names enough to say them proudly. AugustWren comes from 2 places in my life. My son’s middle name is Augustus and my Dad called me Jenny Wren when I was a little girl. So everything comes around to where it once was.
My newsletter will give you early access to my workshops around the world. My co-teacher Gayle Kabaker and I spend a week with you teaching acrylagouache in a joyful, painterly, non intimidating way. We all go home with pages of memories in our sketchbooks. We’ve taught classes in Morocco, Spain, France, Italy, and Portugal so far! You may get some musings on my travels. We also teach bi-monthly zoom classes on various fun themes. It’s an easy and informative way to spend a creative afternoon.
More about me: A deep love of color, pattern and nature are the foundation of my work as an artist, illustrator, author and teacher. My spontaneous and joyful gouache paintings of flowers, landscapes, people and occasional meditative abstract musings open a colorful and enticing window onto moment of wandering, memory and place.
In 2010 I made the move to switch careers from textile design to illustration, to fulfill a long held goal. I began a rigorous daily sketchbook project, doing a 30 minute painting every day. The looseness and intuitiveness of these paintings became my signature style and they are the source of much inspiration to myself and others. I am endlessly amazed and satisfied to see my shelf filling up with completed sketchbooks.
My work has been featured on many products and brands worldwide, including Anthropologie, Abrams Books, Chasing Paper, Chronicle Books, Eeboo, Kate Spade Home, Tocca, Seattle Chocolate Company, Roger LaBorde as well as many others. My books include three inspirational sketchbook journals published by Abrams that encourage and inspire people to develop their own daily drawing practice. My other book “All Hail the Queen” empowers girls and women through informative and fun illustrations of powerful woman monarchs throughout history.
I studied at Rhode Island School of Design and spent the first half of my career as a textile designer and stylist in NYC.
