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lolajovan.com
Lola Jovan
@lolajovan.com
4.7K followers 3.6K following 9.1K posts
Artist, wanderer, rockhound, sparkle-seeker. Married to my soulmate❤️

Democrat! Liberal! Blue 💙
🚫porn 🚫crypto 🚫DMs 🚫MAGA

Art home at www.lolajovan.com
Blog at www.lolajovan.com/blog

#art #fantasyart #pdxartist #oilpainting #inclementweatherhikingsociety
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Lola Jovan @lolajovan.com · Dec 7
Hello Bluesky humans! I’m so happy to be here in the friendly place. 😁

Art does not always speak for itself, so you’ll see words with my paintings to help illuminate. Want more words? More art? Subscribe at www.lolajovan.com

Join a great community there and enter a monthly art giveaway!

#art
lolajovan.com
What Grief Says
mixed media (oil, cold wax, collage) on paper
15 x 21

My grief says that I dared to love, that I allowed another to enter the very core of my being and find a home in my heart. - FRANCIS WELLER

Get the art: www.lolajovan.com/store/p677/w...

#art #abstractart

Story-ALTtext⬇️
An abstract painting with collage elements It is a season of grief. Too many losses and endings in the deep of winter; it colors everything like a glaze. And yet, I grieve because I have loved. I celebrate because I can, and do, still love. It’s a soup of sadness and softness and smiles. A little bitter, a little sweet.
January 17, 2026 at 3:42 PM
lolajovan.com
A few things that make me smile 😁

My smart, funny, kind, handsome man and our quirky pooch

A random seagull on the roof

Crows in the morning

Pink sunrises

Now, back to your regularly scheduled world news.

#love #happy #goodthings #photography #ourhouse
Malcolm and Wonder Mike doing Sudoku together We usually have rooftop crows - today it was a seagull Morning crows on a utility line Pink sunrise over Portland
January 17, 2026 at 1:43 AM
lolajovan.com
A little animation just for fun!

Get the art: www.lolajovan.com/store/p818/t...

#animation #art #penandink #cat #catart #drawing #illustration
January 16, 2026 at 3:38 PM
lolajovan.com
The water may be muddy. The world may be a mess. But rowing on the Willamette on a sunny day in winter sounds blissful.

(Native sound - oars and water, voices calling the strokes)

#portland #rowing #willametteriver #peace #river
January 16, 2026 at 1:40 AM
lolajovan.com
Be A Samurai
pen and ink on wood panel
8 x 12

Be a Samurai.
Because you just never know what's behind the freaking sky. - LAINI TAYLOR

Get the art: www.lolajovan.com/store/p767/b...

#fantasyart #art #penandink #samurai #illustration #rabbit #rabbitart

Story-ALTtext⬇️
A rabbit samurai crouched with his sword. He wears an elegant robe. I would make a pretty awful samurai. Clumsy, slow reflexes, wimpy arms. My attitude would be all badass and calm, I think, but there would be no strength or skill to back that up. Though the world seems to be insinuating we all need to assume a war footing, I think I’ll just wear rabbit ears and nod wisely.
January 15, 2026 at 3:56 PM
lolajovan.com
Winter shadows in the late afternoon.

#ourhouse #shadowplay #interiorviews #skull #photography
Shadows inside an alcove in our house
January 15, 2026 at 1:28 AM
lolajovan.com
Sure Dark Wings
pen and ink on wood altar
19.5 x 6 x 3

When, in the middle of the night,
you wake with the certainty you've done it all wrong, when you wake up and see clearly all the places you've failed…

Get the altar: www.lolajovan.com/store/p819/s...

#art #crows #altar #crow

Story-ALTtext⬇️
Full view of the top of a wood altar illustrated with flying crows. The poem continues: in that moment, when dreams will not return, ths is the chance for your most gentle voice- the one you reserve for those you love most- to sat to you quitely, oh sweetheart, this is not yet the end of the story. Sleep will not come, but somehow, in that wide-awake moment there is peace- the kind that does not need everything to be right before it arrives. The kind that comes from not fighting what is real. The peace that rises in the dark on its sure dark wings and flies true with no moon, no stars. - ROSEMERRY WAHTOLA TROMMER View of the altar with driftwood and stones View of altar legs Full top view in situ
January 14, 2026 at 3:30 PM
lolajovan.com
Tumbler day! These beauties are from our adventures in northern California last year.

Can there be too many rocks in one house? We don’t think so!

#rocks #rocktumbling #ourhouse #rockcollection #beauty
Marbled rocks in my hand Speckled rocks in my hand Chunky matte beauties Big beauty with quartz veining
January 14, 2026 at 1:50 AM
lolajovan.com
Bad Red
oil on paper
18.5 x 14.25

Carmine’s actual name was never revealed in the fairytales. 

Get the art: www.lolajovan.com/store/p632/b...

#art #painting #redridinghood #faitytale #oilpainting #figurativeart#fantasyart

Story-ALTtext⬇️
Red riding hood and her monster, an oil painting. The narrative continues: Little Red Riding Hood was hardly a name she could use once she was no longer little. And her childhood, filled with dark forests, menacing wolves and devoured relatives - made her grow up as somewhat of a badass.  She didn’t care what others thought of her. After all, she survived the incident at Grandmother’s house (and all the other incidents that followed her in a seemingly endless life of forestry shenanigans). She kept the red cape, though it was more of a sentimental item than a practical piece of clothing. And she curated a menagerie of monsters to accompany her wherever she went.  She knew better than to go anywhere in the forest alone.
January 13, 2026 at 3:57 PM
lolajovan.com
When you can’t control the world outside your door, there is something lovely about changing things inside your door.

This project began in December, starting with the ground floor. Steps demolished and replaced, tile added, new paint, shelves and of course some bones…

#ourhouse #renovations
Before the renovation - demolished steps and flooring! After reno - ooooh la la! One of our collection now displayed on the wall
January 13, 2026 at 2:21 AM
lolajovan.com
The Mirror of Our Own Projections
oil on paper
18.5 x 18.5

…for in the lifelong project of understanding ourselves, we are all reluctant visitors to the dusky and desolate haunts of our own nature - MARIA POPOVA

Get the art: www.lolajovan.com/store/p817/p...

#art #painting
Story-ALTtext⬇️
An abstracted landscape suggesting sunrise or sunset over water The quote continues: “where shadows we do not want to meet dwell. But in any human association that has earned the right use the word love, we must be in relationship with both the light and the shadow in ourselves and each other. All authentic relationship is therefore a matter of clear sight — of seeing through the shining pane of the other’s self-concealment and removing the mirror of our own projections” How to see others in a world of projection and shadow, self-concealment and desolate haunts - is there a manual for that? I admit to struggling with this in recent days. My own humanity feels under attack. It becomes easier to be angry and reactive rather than contemplative and compassionate. A big sigh. A deep breath. A pause. And so we have come to the time of relationship with shadow. The shadow parts of ourselves growing monstrous as the light of the world dims, distorting our reflections. The elongated shadows of others make perceptions skewed. It is a funhouse out there, and therefore in here a bit, too. Thank goodness for you, reading this. For art, for books, for singing and for love. Sending big hugs to anyone who needs them. Thank you for being here. xo
January 12, 2026 at 3:47 PM
lolajovan.com
The Portland crows wanted to walk for peace like the monks. They settled for a walk for peanuts.😊

But it is so very lovely to be greeted this way when we head out for a walk!

(Native audio so you can enjoy their banter)

#portland #crows #portlandcrows #morningwalk #walkforpeanuts #peace #NoKings
January 12, 2026 at 1:51 AM
lolajovan.com
I Could Use The Time Alone
pen and ink on Yupo
8 x 12

Pavlov hits me with more bad news
Every time I answer the phone
So I, I play and I sing and I just let it ring
All day when I'm at home
- ANI DEFRANCO, SERPENTINE

Get the cat: www.lolajovan.com/store/p818/t...

#art #drawing

Story-ALTtext⬇️
A pen and ink drawing of a cat The lyric section continues: “A defacto choice of macro or microcosmic melancholy But baby, anyway you slice it I'm thinkin' I could just as soon use the time alone” DeFranco’s song is timeless. If you have a chance, take a listen. Written over 20 years ago, it feels pulled from today’s headlines. The pull to withdraw, go inside and avoid the chaos is strong. This solitary feline is embracing the solitude.
January 11, 2026 at 4:09 PM
lolajovan.com
A sunny morning earlier in the week. Portland is too pretty for people to be cruel here, don’tcha think?

#portland #sunrise #photography #urbanscape #morningwalks #kindness #NoKings
A city aglow in the early sun Pretty portland on the river The wide angle view
January 11, 2026 at 2:02 AM
lolajovan.com
Seemingly Most Innocent
oil on Yupo
11.5 x 17.5

On the twenty-third day of the month of September…the human race suddenly encountered a deadly threat to its very existence. LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS

Get the art: www.lolajovan.com/store/p749/s...

#art #painting #monster
Story-ALTtext⬇️ pzis
A gigantic menacing plant hovers over the water near a city The quote continues: “And this terrifying enemy surfaced, as such enemies often do, in the seemingly most innocent and unlikely of places…” We live in times of existential angst, were it seems like anything could (and sometimes does) happen.
January 10, 2026 at 3:59 PM
lolajovan.com
A moment of brilliant sunlight streaming into the living room this afternoon. Illuminated rocks and a small bisque bird: stillness in a world of chaos and unrest.

#portland #ourhouse #rocks #photography #stillness
A small grouping of rocks and sculpture on a table: light and shadow
January 10, 2026 at 2:04 AM
lolajovan.com
She Who Intoxicates
pen and ink on Yupo
9 x 13

Medb (pronounced MAVE) is a queen in Irish Mythology. Sometimes known as "She Who Intoxicates", Medb is an archetypal warrior queen

Get the art: www.lolajovan.com/store/p769/s...

#art #drawing #penandink #illustration #fantasyart
Story-ALTtext⬇️
A pen and ink drawing of a warrior queen. How can we be anything but angry about the escalation of brutality and outright lies in our country? Medb’s expression captures my mood after the shootings in Portland yesterday.
January 9, 2026 at 4:14 PM
lolajovan.com
The day began with sun so bright it put a halo around downtown buildings. Which you’d think is positive sign - a sign of hope!

Now two people are hospitalized here, shot by US Customs and Border Patrol. Anger and grief, outrage and horror. We’re gonna need more than sun halos.

#portland
A bright sun reflection and halo in downtown Portland this morning
January 9, 2026 at 12:39 AM
lolajovan.com
Sometimes it Takes a Great Sky
acrylic on wood panel
30 x 40

Sometimes it takes
a great sky
to find that

first, bright
and indescribable
wedge of freedom
in your own heart. - DAVID WHYTE

Get the art: www.lolajovan.com/store/p397/s...

#art #painting #landscapeart #abstractart

Story-ALTtext⬇️
An abstracted landscape depicting part of the Columbia River Gorge The poem continues: “Sometimes with the bones of the black sticks left when the fire has gone out someone has written something new in the ashes of your life. You are not leaving. Even as the light fades quickly now, you are arriving.” 
January 8, 2026 at 4:05 PM
lolajovan.com
A sweet new sign went up in our neighborhood this week. I am guessing this is going to be the kind of activism that gets people detained in the near future, because Portlanders are anti-litter and that’s so uncalled for.

#portland #activism #resist #NoKings
A hand-lettered anti-litter sign on a utility pole
January 8, 2026 at 1:40 AM
lolajovan.com
A little animation just for fun!

Get the art: www.lolajovan.com/store/p816/c...

#animation #penandink #catart #straycat #catandmoon #illustration #drawing
January 7, 2026 at 3:20 PM
lolajovan.com
Rain and wind, cold and crows. A blustery morning walk while contemplating the surreal nature of world events.

#portland #crow #corvid #cityscape #river #morningwalk #photography
A crow making the most of some tasty trash Sunrise over the Willamette Clouds and a bit of early sun sparkle over the city The clouds are coming! The clouds are coming!
January 7, 2026 at 12:10 AM
lolajovan.com
There Is No Cure For Curiosity
pen and ink on Yupo
8 x 10 inches
(with a wide border for framing)

The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity. - DOROTHY PARKER

Get the art: www.lolajovan.com/store/p816/c...

#art #penandink #drawing #cat #catart #blackandwhite #curiosity
A pen and ink drawing of a cat on the prowl
January 6, 2026 at 3:57 PM
lolajovan.com
A little distraction from events in the wider world…Portland keeps moving, doing its thing. People keep moving, dogs gotta walk, life still needs to be lived. Rolling on.

#portland #NoKings #impeach #resist #protest #NoWar #morningwalks
January 6, 2026 at 1:40 AM
lolajovan.com
The Game Breaks Down
oil on Yupo
12 x 19

If all those things -trust, respect, etiquette -stop functioning, the rules clash and the game breaks down. - Haruki Murakami, Killing Commendatore

Get the art: www.lolajovan.com/store/p814/D...

#art #painting #fantasyart #animalart

Story-ALTtext⬇️
A donkey and an elephant in a sailboat. ​Society depends on a number of thin strands of tenuous agreements. For example, I won't go around killing you and yours, and you won't kill me and mine. I won't steal your stuff and you will leave my stuff alone. People don't walk unannounced into each other's homes, kidnap them, lob grenades over fences, redecorate other people's houses and so forth. Well, generally they don't. Or at least, in the past, it was a rare occurence. But the gloves seem to be off in the world. Trust, respect, etiquette have stopped functioning at all in much of the online world and even in real life. I cannot count the number of times my eyebrows have raised at what people do not hesitate to do anymore. Including killing humans in boats and kidnapping leaders of other countries. So to begin this year I am imagining a world where trust, respect, etiquette are cool again. Where we look upon each other with compassion and curiosity, seeking connection and cooperation instead of annihilation. And with that thought, a couple of unluckly passengers in the pea green boat working together to cross the stormy seas.
January 5, 2026 at 3:22 PM