Megan-Jane Johnstone
AO
Megan-Jane Johnstone AO (preferred name Megan) is a contemporary abstract artist who resides in Melbourne. The primary inspiration for Megan-Jane’s work comes from the natural environment, its genesis, and the geological and botanical histories associated with it.
Megan-Jane’s paintings encompass contemporary and realist abstract expressions of characteristic landscapes and unique geological features found in New Zealand (her country of origin), Australia (where she lives) and Greece (through which she has travelled extensively). She works in a range of media including water-based paints, acrylic inks, aqua pencils, graphite, charcoal, and pastel. All works are on paper and have been produced using a dynamic combination of different methods and experimental renditions of the scenes portrayed. Her painterly interpretations of the colours and contours of landscapes and the unique geological formations within them aim to give viewers a multidimensional experience of the infinite possibilities in which panoramas can be viewed, interpreted and enjoyed.
Education
Megan is a self-taught artist. Since first commencing her art practice in 2017 she has undertaken several online courses and face-to-face workshops with professional artists enabling her to explore and experiment with different mediums, genres and subject matter.
Prior to taking up her art practice in 2017, Megan-Jane had a distinguished 43year career in nursing–the last 30 years of which were spent in the university sector. Her academic positions have included appointments as professor of nursing at RMIT University and Deakin University, Melbourne. She is renowned internationally for her work as a leading scholar in the field of nursing and health care ethics and is the author of over 200 publications, including several books.
In the 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours list, Megan-Jane was appointed an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) for 'distinguished service to medical education in the field of nursing and healthcare ethics, to patients' rights, and to professional standards.'
In 2017 Megan-Jane formally retired from her academic position to re-engage with her childhood ambition to be a visual artist. Her growing art portfolio is a realisation of this ambition. In 2023, she was elected a Signatory Member of the Victorian Artists’ Society for her ‘contribution and services to the arts’.
Works by Megan-Jane Johnstone
Acknowledgment of traditional owners.
We would like to pay our respects to the traditional owners of the land on which our building stands, their leaders, past, present and emerging.