Margaret Elizabeth Johnston Blogs

Now that I'm back in Bali I'm craving something wild and intoxicating, sensuous and beautiful...I've been wanting to paint the Ylang-Ylang, Cananga odorata, flower for a few years so now is the time! It is native to India, the Philippines and Java-I... 

Since Summer 2021 I have been consistent with my "print-on-demand" products and have enjoyed that however, I am finding the problems arise with the swimwear and nothing but the swimwear. I am sad to say I must let this side of my creations go for no... 

This blog is really just a copy and paste of my art blog on my main website: www.mejcreations.com Please refer to that website from now on and enjoy the collections, the art and health blog, upcoming events, newsletter and published articles. Yo... 

Putting my professional matt cutter to good use these past few days, finally got the hang of the corners! It is really great to be able to finally get all my originals matted and framed, I am preparing for the Boerne Library September Expo that will... 

Margaret Elizabeth Johnston is a Botanical Illustrator and Artist that is also a promoter of health and vitality. She is a Naturopathic (Holistic Health) Educator and enjoys painting plants in a way that may interest people to learn more about that p... 

Spending the day framing some small prints from Ibiza and also stocking up at Hobby Lobby with large frames for the September Expo at the Boerne Library! I'll have about 35 paintings matted and framed along with a lot of work to show of the Botanica... 

Literally "hanging" in Boerne Hill Country Texas today after "hanging" my paintings for the month-long expo at the Boerne Visitor Center and enjoying the Little Nature Garden and all the birdhouses and sweet herb garden there. It is still high summe... 

For the month of August I am showing my medicinal plant paintings of Texas at the Boerne Visitor Centre. There will be 7 paintings in all and there will be the information of each plant hanging from each painting so you can tour around the room lear... 

Brought in some Hawaiian paintings to the New Braunfels Art League, Purple Passion & Reaching High. One is the passion flower and the fruit of a vine that was growing on the Kona Coffee Farm I lived on and the other is a painting I did of some Prote... 

Here in the Hill Country of Texas we have beautiful lavender fields. Sage, rosemary and all those wonderful herbs grow quite easily here. Today I went to a lavender festival and roamed around all the beautiful arts and home made gourmet food items!... 

I spent about a month on and off working on my agave painting, I was very happy with it and used some masking fluid painstakingly for the small feathery pollen bits on the flower of the plant, also some highlighted areas within the leaves. I then de... 

The April/May 2016 issue of Expat Life Thailand arrived in the mail so I now have the printed version of my aloe article. The whole article can be read under the "Published Articles" in the navigation bar on my website at www.mejcreations.com or if ... 

Lots of classes at New Braunfels Art League going on today. The upstairs has loads of spaces for workshops and there are two today with mixed media. I am here showing shoppers that come in some new works and also working on my agave painting up at ... 

Had a light, fun day in Boerne neighborhood called "The Flats". Loads of home owners let us artists set up in their front yards and show our work. The weekend has had rain in and out with about 1pm really starting to pour but I did enjoy a cool mor... 

Lots of Texans involved in Native Plants and local pollinators are pulling together to help people be more aware of planting plants to help sustain local butterfly populations; Milkweed being a major one for the Monarchs. Enjoyed going to the Farmer... 

If you're in the Boerne/Hill Country area 2nd weekend of May, come visit me at 309 W San Antonio in Boerne. The Waddle is happening in town and loads of artists are showing their work in an older part of Boerne, behind Kendal Inn, will be a lovely d... 

Went on a field trip with the Native Plant Society of Texas and some of the Master Naturalist Group out today to the Native Plant Gardens just south-west of Kerrville! Saw so many beautiful flowers in bloom and also a gorgeous river running through ... 

Enjoyed a botanical day with the Orchid Show near the Botanical Gardens of San Antonio, Texas. Lots of beautiful orchids, many different varieties and hybrids. Stopped of at the McNay Art Museum for some influx of Rodin sculptures and gorgeous ligh... 

Had a really great weekend meeting loads of new people, both local and from afar! It was really rewarding to speak about the medicinal qualities of my plant paintings and that they related directly to Texas plants here in the Hill Country. I had a ... 

Just got back from the Texas Watercolor Society Art Show at the New Braunfels Art League in New Braunfels in the Hill Country. I work there one day a week and have my paintings hanging there year round. It is a beautiful gallery and there are many ... 

Beautiful Texas wildflowers to be seen all over the countryside these days in early April! 

I'm all ready for the Parade of Artists with 5 medicinal plants of Texas (except for the Bluebonnet but I bet you can make a tea out of the flowers!) and my published articles about these very plants all laminated and ready to be seen. It will be a ... 

Next weekend, April 9th - 10th, I am in a really fun art show called The Parade of Artists with the BPA, Boerne Professional Artists. I'll be showing my medicinal plants of Texas paintings at Hunting & Gathering on Main Street. Make sure to drop by... 

Back from a bit of a break and enjoyed the Texas Native Plant Show today! Spring is here and the morning misty rains are descending on us to leave us by early afternoon with fresh air and clean plants! The Hill Country of Texas has so much to offer... 

This old fashioned pharmacy can be seen along with a lot of other "naturalist's" collections from the 18th century here in Texas. The Sophienburg Museum and Archives has an exhibition of F.J. Lindheimer's collections, he is considered the "Father of... 

I've changed my art studio a bit so that I have the most light on my table I work on in the corner, although, I've been getting up at 6am these days finding that early morning painting is best to get on a lot of base layers, then come back to it in t... 

Painting a form of the Yucca right now, the leaves are a whitish-blue/green and the flower is white but isn't! I am having to use a lot of light yellows and pinks, lavender and creamy undertones for this painting. My usual is so bright that I am ha... 

"In this day and age there are so many different ways to go about working with health concerns that sometimes we just need a guiding light. Let me help you help yourself!" Margaret offers many different creative solutions to your lifestyle need... 

Off the yellow addiction and onto orange! Beginning a native plant painting of the Yucca glauca. Noticed all my paintings were beginning to get psychedelic and am now trying to tone it down a bit thinking I would go with a nice calming dusty blue l... 

Started out the year well with a variety of new commitments, one being working with the NBAL artists. It was such fun today to meet and chat with other local artists, some showing their work and others giving classes. The work space upstairs is the... 

Just couldn't' resist taking this pic today. Went to the San Antonio Botanic Gardens and am always so blown over by the diversity of Texas plant life! There are Texas natives of course, but a rose garden and oranges, papaya and banana, lilies and n... 

Becoming the McNay Ohio-born heiress Marion Koogler first visited San Antonio in 1918, shortly after her marriage to Sergeant Don Denton McNay, who was called to active duty in Laredo, Texas. Later that year Don McNay died from the Spanish flu. ... 

I have wrapped up a few things recently, the articles I have written for Expat Life Thailand have been fun and very well laid out by the editors however the magazines aren't getting to my door, must be lost at sea! I also feel that now that I am bac... 

Finally started the aloe painting this weekend, trying to get finished by Thursday! Lots of little detail in this one compared to some recent work but much easier than pure botanical also. I used some masking fluid for the whitish dots on the aloe ... 

Today was the only day in the year the NBAL accepts new members and juries for people to hang on the walls in the large gallery space. I headed off to the gallery this morning to drop off 3 paintings, then had to go back later to find out if I got i... 

Enter, the beginning of winter as we fall back this Sunday with time, giving us one more hour of sunlight! The seasons are changing quickly here in Texas and the rains have begun! Autumn is such a beautiful time and we are lucky here with still war... 

Enjoyed the Hill Country Art Show and Sale last night! Lots of talented artists there, I look forward to joining the BPA, Boerne Professional Artists, in the New Year! Lots of different media was being shown and lots of inspiration to boot! So won... 

This is the 2nd hanging I have done at this library, it a a lovely local library with an excellent hanging space. All of these paintings were painted in my past but it is still fun to have the experience of showing my work. The paintings are at the... 

Uploading all my past available work onto my site today, most of it is my botanical illustration paintings. This site is really dedicated to my more recent work however I will be changing MEJCREATIONS in November so must prepare to have these painti... 

This is a little long but I do write for Expat Life Thailand and wrote about the health benefits of coconuts of which I painted the painting for. They also inserted the Dragon Fruit painting but oh well...still is a good read and a nice article. I ... 

In October I am showing a set of my washy watercolours in an expo and will be uploading a lot of my Botanical Illustrations on this site too. I painted these when I was in Hawaii when I was studying the Common Tropicals of Hawaii. Recently, I poste... 

I got this fabulous contraption back in Scotland in 2008 when I was doing lots of intense Botanical Illustration. It has been since a complete savior for me when I find I've been working away all day at my desk! "I am a bat in Twinkemhamtown, I liv... 

This is an exciting time for me to be able to NOT be packing up my home and heading for Cape Town or Thailand or London or wherever! I get to watch the cooler weather come in and the leaves begin to turn and drop. This month will be dedicated towar... 

I'm realizing the gift of having many passions in life and combining them into a beautiful existence! My art and nutritional advice along with massage and yoga, educating about holistic health, writing for various publications and then submitting ar... 

I am very excited to have this painting finished and ready to send to the editors of Expat Life Thailand along with my medicinal plant article about the health benefits of the coconut that is coming out in October for the Oct./Nov. issue! Writing th... 

I have been spending the month of August photographing some paintings that were framed years ago and I can now sell as prints. Even though they are a bit "messy" they still hold a lot of life and laughter. I enjoy these types of "loose" works and a... 

Hanging 11 paintings in the Bulverde/Spring Leaf Library today along with another Botanical Illustrator friend. The paintings will be hanging for one month. I cut the matts myself and now feel like I can do my own work as to cutting, matting and f... 

This painting is a bit of a "wow" factor with the bright colors and the energy it gives off. I was in transition between a fresh visit to the Hawaiian Islands and living in San Francisco and then planning on moving to London. I put this collage tog... 

I have a chance to upload some good quality pictures to this site now that I am home. I had a wonderful few summers in Ibiza, one of the Balaeric islands off the coast of Spain. They are funky, light and bright paintings...lemons, dancing flowers a... 

Boerne is a really cute little village that is about a 15 min. drive away from me. On my website one can see some of the events I plan on going to. There are many galleries ands some associations that I will be getting involved with. I am so lucky... 

Loving being home in my studio space with all the wonderful home comforts! A pot of wonderful herbal tea at all times and good classical music! Ahhh, the USA with fast internet is a wonder! Yippee!!! 

Enjoying some relaxing days in Texas while I begin a coconut painting and then focus on some succulents; the sour fig grow here so I feel I may work on a painting of that. Oh so much fun ahead! 

I am selling all my new original artwork on my new website, as you know FAA only deals with prints and accessories. Please check it out, there are more extensive blogs on my medicinal plants and also a newsletter you can sign up for! Thanks for vis... 

Went cruising around Krabi islands in South Thailand for 4 days. Saw many beautiful islands and swam in the most pristine waters! So much inspiration! 

This painting makes me want to put together a small hardback book for the kitchen with all kinds of spices for Chai Tea! "The Spicy Chai Life!" 

Went to the Phuket Botanical Gardens yesterday. Enjoyed the photo ops and the beautiful special planning! So Asian! 

I'm loving my new style with washy wet on wet watercolors but with added detail...really so much more fun than intense Botanical Illustration! I'm thinking of getting this printed on mugs and/or aprons for "in the kitchen" for the Texas Cactus Counc... 

This is the Texas State Plant, next painting is of the Prickly Pear, above, and there is an accompanying article about the medicinal uses also. 

We all go through dark times and light times, it is good to remember to keep that full spectrum within my new paintings. 

This flower is the Butterfly pea Flower and can be used as a natural dye for foods and drinks. When you squeeze a bit of citrus into the drink it turns a bright hot pink right before your eyes. The Butterfly Pea Flower is used in Southeast Asian di... 

It is great watching the paint swirl into the water on my paper as I create these types of paintings. The technique is called wet-on-wet and it is my favorite way to display how watercolors really, I feel, can be allowed to "roam-free". 

I am working on creating some new work that is sellable and fun. Having indulged in a few years of study with botanical illustration and holistic health credentials, I am building a portfolio of paintings that will be available to buy at a reasonabl... 

Was inspired to paint a lotus flower while in Thailand, will most likely paint some more also. They are beautiful and there is an old Buddhist saying, "Out of the mud grows the lotus" referring to the fact that the lotus starts from the murky bottom... 

This is about 2 fruits and one flower that I wrote about while in Thailand. One of them is the Dragon Fruit of which I am selling the painting of my picture in the Botanical Art Gallery.  

http://www.expatlifeinthailand.com/emagazine-june-july-2015/