Meet Jake Johnson’s Wife, Erin Payne

Although they do not share much about their personal lives, Erin Payne and Jake Johnson are a mom and dad to twins. Their twin daughters, Olivia and Elizabeth, were born in 2014. Not much is known about Payne’s younger life, but according to her website, she graduated with a B.A. from The Evergreen State College in 1994 and a B.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2002. Almost a decade later, she graduated with an M.F.A. from Claremont Graduate University. Payne won a variety of scholarships, fellowships, and awards, including the “New American Paintings” Readers Choice Prize in 2012.

The collection that won was Payne’s “Piles Paintings” work, which are paintings of piles of discarded fabric, sometimes painted in front of nature backdrops. Many of the paintings include icebergs in the background, or landscapes of other places Payne has not been. On the piles, Payne said, “I imagine each discarded blanket, linen, and household textile as a surrogate for the human that once held and used it. … Placing it in the landscape is a way for me to engage in a conversation about humans and the environment we occupy and share with other living things” (via New American Paintings).

Many of the Piles Paintings are available to view on Payne’s online portfolio. One of Payne’s Piles pieces ended up in Johnson’s show “New Girl,” but that’s not the only time her work appeared in the sitcom.