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Lola Jovan
@lolajovan.com
4.7K followers 3.6K following 9.5K 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
A few photos from our rockhounding beach hike this week - even when it’s cold out, the Oregon coast is spectacular!

#tidepools #marinelife #oregoncoast #rockhounds #beachhike #ocean
Some jumbo seastars in the tidepools A rock formation jutting from the tidepools Brilliant sun over a rocky beach A pool of sea anenomes
February 13, 2026 at 2:06 AM
lolajovan.com
Leopold Can Leap
pen and ink on wood panel
11 x 14

The artist never entirely knows. We guess. We may be wrong, but we take leap after leap in the dark. - Agnes de Mille

Get Leopold: www.lolajovan.com/store/p775/L...

#art #penandink #animalart #fantasyart #illustrationart #lemur
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A pen and ink drawing of a lemur in pajamas with a balloon. Making art is sometimes about leaping in the dark. Which makes for lots of bumps, trips, tumbles and messes. But once in a while we nail the leap and can take a little bow afterward. Those successful leaps make all the others so worthwhile. 😊
February 12, 2026 at 4:14 PM
lolajovan.com
Oooooh the weather and tides were all aligned today - sun (though still chilly) and low tide! We spent the day playing in winter tidepools…. Bliss!

(Native audio! Enjoy the waves!)

#oregoncoast #tidepools #marinelife #beachhike #seastars #love
February 12, 2026 at 2:31 AM
lolajovan.com
Tucked Up Somewhere in the Woods on a Hill
acrylic on aquabord
16 x 20

We're all falling and we need a place to hide
A safe place somewhere in the woods we can start the fire
- The Hollow Coves

Get the art: www.lolajovan.com/store/p381/t...

#art #painting #landscapeart
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A landscape of trees. The lyrics continue: “All we know is what would be our home We will stay 'til the break of dawn - The cold night takes us to a place to escape the chill Tucked up somewhere in the woods on a hill Wake up feeling the cold in between our toes Is there a way back? Nobody knows And we leave it all behind Can't you see we need some time?” This painting was inspired by some of our longer hikes, deep into the “burn forest” of the Columbia River Gorge, where tall trees of cinder and ash stand amidst the greenery, a reminder of wildfires and renewal.
February 11, 2026 at 3:44 PM
lolajovan.com
Some days our home is more “natural history museum” than house. We kinda love it like that. 😊

#portland #ourhouse #bones #skeleton #nature #interiordesign
Onenof the skulls in our collection Tiny bird skeleton A few things found along the way adventuring
February 11, 2026 at 2:12 AM
lolajovan.com
Not Your Average Bigfoot
oil on cradled wood panel
24 x 24

Bernard never failed to make a first impression.

Get the art: www.lolajovan.com/store/p629/n...

#art #painting #fantasyart #polarbear #animalart #oilpainting

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An oil painting of a feisty polar bear. The story continues: It wasn’t always positive. He tried, you know. Wiping off the saliva and residue of meals from his muzzle helped, but teeth and nails and massive paws (along with a tendency to eat anything that moved) meant Bernard wasn’t invited to anything - ever. No matter, he thought. Parties and gatherings weren’t really his thing. His introversion made conversation awkward, and he didn’t really like to be touched. Which was problematic given his glorious white coat which practically begged folks to pet it (and ultimately resulted in missing fingers and hands).  You’ll find him enjoying the solitude on most afternoons.
February 10, 2026 at 3:40 PM
lolajovan.com
A misty, drizzly morning before the rain.

#portland #morningwalks #sunrise #photography #river
A view down the pedestrian and bike lane on the bridge Sunrise over the Willamette Fog rising off the river A far view of sunrise
February 10, 2026 at 2:09 AM
lolajovan.com
The Time That Is Given Us
oil on wood panel
11 x 14

I wish it need not have happened in my time, said Frodo.
So do I, said Gandalf
- J.R.R. Tolkien

Get the art: www.lolajovan.com/store/p832/t...

#art #painting #abstractportrait #abstractart #portraiture

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An abstracted portrait in oils. The quote continues: “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” I spend a bit of time thinking about, well, time. The older I am, the faster it goes. The faster it goes, the more precious each day becomes. The more precious the day, the less patience I have with the state of things in the world. And that very impatience distracts from the decision still within my hands - what do do with the time I have in the times in which we live.
February 9, 2026 at 3:55 PM
lolajovan.com
Tumbler day! Hello, shiny rocks!

#rockhound #agates #oregoncoast #rocktumbling #rocks #ourhouse
Two mixed material “eggs” A mixed material agate “heart” A big one! A handful of agates
February 9, 2026 at 2:10 AM
lolajovan.com
Just for fun - a little animation of a recent pen and ink drawing. 😁

Get the art: www.lolajovan.com/store/p833/t...

#animation #art #penandink #drawing #motorcycle #fantasyart #illustrationart
February 8, 2026 at 3:46 PM
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Before the rains returned (again) there was this!!!

#sunset #sunrise #portland #urbanscape #photography
Sunset from our window Sunrise in Portland Bridge reflection in the morning sun
February 8, 2026 at 1:53 AM
lolajovan.com
Trying To Be A Champion
pen and ink on Yupo
8 x 12

A boy told me
if he roller-skated fast enough
his loneliness couldn't catch up to him,

the best reason I ever heard
for trying to be a champion. -NAOMI SHIHAB NYE

Get the art: www.lolajovan.com/store/p833/t...

#art #penandink

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A pen and ink drawing of a rodent on a motorcycle. The poem continues: “What I wonder tonight pedaling hard down King William Street is if it translates to bicycles. A victory! To leave your loneliness panting behind you on some street corner while you float free into a cloud of sudden azaleas, pink petals that have never felt loneliness, no matter how slowly they fell”
February 7, 2026 at 4:00 PM
lolajovan.com
A little beach bliss for your Friday!

(native audio - enjoy the waves!)

#oregoncoast #ocean #waves #rockhounds #beachhike #photography
February 7, 2026 at 2:00 AM
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The Consequence of Hope
oil on Yupo
20.5 x 20.5

Only hope can give rise to the emotion we call despair.
― SAMURAI CHAMPLOO

Get the art: www.lolajovan.com/store/p586/t...

#art #oilpainting #modernart #portrait #maleportrait #contemporaryart #painting

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An abstracted portrait of a man. The quote continues: “But it is nearly impossible for a man to try to live without hope, so I guess that leaves man no choice but to walk around with despair as his companion.” It began with watching an animated samurai series (Samurai Champloo - have you seen it?), which led to another (Blue Eye Samurai - surely you’ve seen that one?) and then to other series and movies and a book or two and how could I not become a fan of the samurai? The tenacity of hope and its partner, despair.
February 6, 2026 at 3:56 PM
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We finally grabbed a day and ran for the coast to frolic on the beach! Hooray! High tide and sneaker waves meant no tide pool action for us, but plenty of sun and sand and seclusion. Mmm mmm good.

#oregoncoast #rockhounds #beach #ocean #hightide #beachhike #photography #love
The long view from the entrance trail featuring a haystack rock Fog and mist and driftwood and sunshine High tide and sneaker waves A large, LARGE worm rock (too large to take home, dagnabbit)
February 6, 2026 at 1:45 AM
lolajovan.com
Vanished
oil on yupo
11 x 14

There is no assuaging the fear that things end & people leave. - SIMON JIMENEZ, THE VANISHED BIRDS

Get the art: www.lolajovan.com/store/p785/v...

#art #oilpainting #abstractlandscape #abstractart #painting

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An abstracted landscape painting in oils. Endings and leavings. Maybe the hardest part of life. I am still mourning the loss of our sweet border collie years later. And that’s just the example that I am willing to write here. The others are too much. But sometimes endings and leavings open a space for something else. And sometimes that something else is so unimaginably better you have to blink your eyes and pinch yourself to believe it is real.
February 5, 2026 at 3:50 PM
lolajovan.com
Wonder Mike thinks the world is a bit scary right now. The best thing to do is hide yourself in a blanket.

#wondermike #chihuahua #ourhouse #portland #abolishICE
Our chihuahua hiding in his blanket
February 5, 2026 at 2:42 AM
lolajovan.com
Marvin Makes Messes
pen and ink on wood panel
8 x 12

Clutter and mess show us that life is being lived... - Anne Lamott

Get Marvin: www.lolajovan.com/store/p759/m...

#art #penandink #fantasyart #monsters #illustration

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A pen and ink drawing of a monster in a nightgown holding a balloon The quote continues: “Tidiness makes me think of held breath, of suspended animation... Perfectionism is a mean, frozen form of idealism, while messes are the artist's true friend. What people somehow forgot to mention when we were children was that we need to make messes in order to find out who we are and why we are here. “ I am a fan of the messy studio. The abstract artist Brian Rutenburg’s studio is pure madness, yet such beauty emerges from it. Mine is only a mild mess. #goals
February 4, 2026 at 3:47 PM
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A few blooms to brighten the day…

#flowers #blooms #ourhouse #stilllife #photography #portland
Tall blooms in the sunshine A close up of flowers A single showy bloom Branches and blooms
February 4, 2026 at 2:05 AM
lolajovan.com
The Noise Just Fell Away
oil on packaging paper
13 x 14

It took an hour, maybe a day
But once I really listened the noise just fell away - LIZ PHAIR

Get the art: www.lolajovan.com/store/p755/t...

#art #painting #fantasyart #portraiture #femaleportrait #astronaut #space

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An oil painting of a woman in a spacesuit. The lyric begins like this: “The earth looked like it was lit from within Like a poorly assembled electrical ball As we moved out of the farmlands into the grid The plan of a city was all that you saw And all of these people sitting totally still As the ground raced beneath them, thirty-thousand feet down” This piece is one of a few painting on packaging paper; one of many experiments on unusual substrates. This paper gives a texture to the art, and also becomes a bit like leather or fabric once painted. I may never go to outer-space, but I can still explore the unknown in art.😁
February 3, 2026 at 3:37 PM
lolajovan.com
A little moment with crows and a blue jay… the spring food competition is beginning early!

#crows #corvids #bluejay #spring #portland #morningwalks
February 3, 2026 at 1:52 AM
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The Great Transmutation
oil on wood panel
24 x 36

we begin the work
may it continue
the great transmutation
may it continue
a new heaven and a new earth
may it continue
may it continue - DIANE DI PRIMA

Get the art: www.lolajovan.com/store/p831/f...

#art #painting #abstractart

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A fantasy abstracted landscape in oils. The quote begins like this: “may the wind deal kindly with us may the fire remember our names may springs flow, rain fall again may the land grow green, may it swallow our mistakes” I find myself seeking solace in mantras. Chants, of a sort, which my mind can fall into, soothing in their familiarity and rhythm. A pattern of words to return me to my breath, to the present moment, to calm. Di Prima's poem is a grand piece of rhythmic words to refocus on the things we long for and the things we wish to abolish. A reminder of what is good and what is the line in the sand. Following Dotty Seiter's practice of noticing is a real game-changer for me. A daily morning walk over the same old bridge, across the same vast river, toward the same tall buildings - and yet. And yet with practice there are new things everywhere; good things, bad things, neutral things, but things. Observing is a practice. May it continue.
February 2, 2026 at 3:43 PM
lolajovan.com
A single abandoned boat floating in the Willamette River. No sign of who should have been wearing that life vest. It feels like a poignant symbol of how we feel in Portland after the tear gassing and rubber bullets fired at friends and neighbors.

#portland #NoKings #abolishICE #morningwalks
A view off the Hawthorne Bridge in Portland
February 2, 2026 at 2:05 AM
lolajovan.com
I Am In Hiding
pen and ink on paper
11 x 17

It's been about three days now
Since I've been aground
No longer overwhelmed and it seems so simple now - PEARL JAM

Get the art: www.lolajovan.com/store/p792/I...

#art #penandink #drawing #fantasyart #illustration #blackandwhite

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A pen and ink drawing of a hooded and horned figure under the full moon. The lyrics continue: “It's funny when things change so much It's all state of mind I swallow my words to keep from lying I swallow my face just to keep from biting, I, I I swallowed my breath and went deep, I was diving, diving I surfaced when all of my being was enlightened I'm in hiding I'm in hiding I'm in hiding I'm in hiding” Sometimes we have to go quiet. Go within, go dark, go inward. To reset, to rest, to restore. And sometimes, to hide.
February 1, 2026 at 4:02 PM
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Even the crows are feeling the tension in Portland…rumors of an imminent occupation, protestors gassed today in broad daylight (including children and the elderly).

Something wicked this way comes. And it isn’t crows.

#portland #NoKings #abolishICE #crows #corvids
Crows on top of a graffiti covered building
February 1, 2026 at 2:40 AM