Step into the World of BHAM Artist Morgan Jones Johnston

Morgan Jones Johnston has always marched to the beat of her own drum. From her early years in her family’s sewing factory in Cullman, Alabama, to her travels around the world as a celebrated artist, her creativity knows no bounds. Now settled in Birmingham, Morgan has built a life founded on intentionality, kindness, and community. She finds creative inspiration in everyday life and chronicles it all on her website, Rugged and Fancy. Step inside her world and learn more about her journey and her secret to living life to the fullest.

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When did you know that you wanted to paint professionally?

I was always a wildly creative and expressive human. My parents put me in art classes in the little town I grew up in. I remember one class was full of teenagers, and there I was, ten years old, sitting at a table drawing flowers (which won first place in the county fair!).

I grew up in an era when parents told their kids they couldn’t make money as artists, so I spent my 20s deconstructing and repatterning my beliefs around what’s possible, and I’ve only ever worked in creative fields. In my 30s, I became a mom and simultaneously launched an experiential lifestyle brand with my musician husband, Duquette Johnston, called Club Duquette.

We had a brick-and-mortar storefront for almost a decade (which landed us on the cover of The New York Times “Style” section and in the pages of Vogue and Southern Living). We still manufacture and collaborate with brands we love.

At a certain point, my art really started taking off, and I’ve had collections with Serena & Lily, brand partnerships, and commissions from luxury hotel brands and global media companies. I now have 20-plus years of experience in paving my own way, creating art, and seeing what’s possible.

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What can you tell us about the “You Painted My Insides” project?

This project began with garden visits during the height of the pandemic, when we were all so isolated from one another. I’d carry a plein air painting kit with me and spend time in people’s gardens, painting flowers and beautiful scenes. People started joining me from a distance, just to sit and talk. So, I started painting them.

As it became safer again to travel, I began flying around the country and sitting with people at cafes or on sidewalks, painting their portraits as we talked. It grew to a point where hotels in NYC were commissioning me to fly up and paint their guests. Then celebrities started commissioning me to paint them, their kids, and their dogs, too. Then a global media company commissioned me to paint the world’s top 25 CEOs for Cannes Lions. It’s been a wild ride.

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Where did the name “You Painted My Insides” come from?

I had a rare invitation to sit and paint the world’s most significant music supervisor in his studio inside a very prestigious arts club in NYC. We had never met before. It was a weird session, which humored me. He suddenly stood up and said, “We are about done here.”

He walked over, looked at the portrait — still wet in my hands — and said nothing for several long seconds. He looked up at me and suddenly said, “You painted my insides. I’ll walk you to the door.” I still had a palette and wet brushes in my hands.

What was your inspiration behind your newsletter, the Rugged and Fancy Dispatch?

I truly believe beauty isn’t something we simply admire; it’s something we practice with joy, presence, and intention. It brings us back to center and reinvigorates us through even the hardest of times.

The Rugged and Fancy Dispatch is my Substack newsletter — a weekly field guide for people who are pushing back against a culture of speed, consumption, and disposability. This is an invitation into a more intentional, attentive, beautiful way of inhabiting the world.

It’s also a hub for all the many things I’m passionate about, and where I can explore them in longer form. Paris, art and creativity, returning to handcraft, gardening, community, and sharing my favorite things that people always ask me about.

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What’s your ideal itinerary for the perfect day in Birmingham?

Oh, I love this. I’d start the morning with a café au lait at Red Bike (very 90s/Y2K vibe), then pop into Thank You Books to see what’s on the new release shelves. After that, I’d wander around Hanna Antiques — I find some of my best treasures there.

Next, I’d wander through the Birmingham Museum of Art — it’s truly a gem of a museum in the South. I’d go for an early or late lunch at Chez Fon Fon. I always feel like I’m in Paris when I’m there, and their service and care are absolutely TOP. Then I’d pop in Golden Temple for my candles, herbs, teas, and tinctures. I’d take an afternoon walk around Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Jemison Trail, or the parks along Highland Avenue.

Then, Salud for dinner. It’s got the best vibe, best tacos, and is so accessible and chill. We love going to Sidewalk Cinema for a date night. Finally, House Eleven for their all-female DJ nights and Thai food pop-ups.

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Who or what is inspiring you right now?

I’ve been super into Victorian and Edwardian objects for the past few years. I collect people’s diaries and ledgers. I have them dating back to the mid-1800s. I collect old photographs of people wearing interesting fashions from the 1880s through the late 1940s. I also love Substack as a creative community and source of longer-form inspiration.

What’s your best piece of advice?

This is harsh, but so real and full of beauty if you can soften to it: We are all going to die. So why not live your life to the absolute fullest? Dare to let yourself explore and ask, “What do I want? What do I really want for my life? What do I want my life to feel like?” And just go for it. Don’t ever arrive at your final breath with an ounce of regret.

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LIGHTNING ROUND!

Current favorite Southern artist: Roscoe Hall. He deserves all his accolades and fame. He’s good people, has insane talent, and is funny as hell.

Favorite place to vacation: Paris, duh. Also, and this is going to seem like left field, but I LOVE Disney World. Unhinged fun.

Go-to gift to give: Birthday presents should have a bit of each element in them: A bundle of skinny beeswax taper candles from Foxhound Bee Company for fire. A nice bottle of something for water. Flowers from the garden or a local farm for earth. Japanese or French incense for air.

Favorite recent TV show binge: I don’t like the energy of bingeing, but I recently watched Widow’s Bay (feels like a ‘90s Stephen King summer thriller) and the original Little House on the Prairie (Michael Landon is chef’s kiss).

Book(s) on your bedside table: The Stone Witch of Florence by Anna Rasche and Mothers of Magic by Perdita Finn

Three things you can’t live without: My soaking bathtub, my sketchbook, and a deep trust in myself and the Universe.

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