Lola Jovan Art Musings and Random Thoughts

Burn The Map

1/26/2026

Burn The Map

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Burn The Map
oil on wood panel
18 x 24 x .75 inches
This item is unframed but ready to hang.
(click on the image to purchase)

burn the map. lose the compass. I don't think there is a path out of here. maybe we aren't meant to find an exit to this grief. maybe we are meant to be in relationship with it? - JOHN ROEDEL

I've been looking for a map. A way out of this mess. The path forward. A shortcut around the chaos. The fast bridge over the wide, racing river. Beam me up, Scotty - I am ready to get off this ride.

But that isn't how it works, is it?

And so.
And so.
Um, and so - what then?

Turn and face the monster. Don't stop there!
Invite it to sit down.
Offer it a cup of coffee.
Maybe chat, ask questions.
Maybe don't - silence is ok, too.

One thing is for sure though. We are living in the time of monsters. And the path is thorny. Hiding won't help. Slowing down my hurry to get out of this mess might at least let me do some good along the way.

I'd love to know - how are you dealing with the monsters these days?

About the art: another piece created on top of a murdered painting! For this one I had a composition and palette in mind which allowed me to utilize the underpainting colors to create layers and depth. Roughing in the basic concept over the original art, I allowed the new washes of color to dry thoroughly. New layers added over time, with liberal use of a small rubber wedge to carve back into the paint to keep the lines and geometry of the piece intact. The buildings were created in quick motions with a large brush, resisting the urge to go back into them with small brushes and detail. A final layer of varnish after a long, LONG drying time makes all the colors and darks really sing.

9 Comments

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Lola Jovan

Dotty Seiter link

1/25/2026 04:18:55 pm

The hybrid feel of this maybe-a-map-maybe-a-bird's-eye-view-of-landscape is compelling! Keeps drawing me in to look, see, ponder, investigate, smile, examine, interpret, invent. LOVE it! Also, I never get tired of watching you murder/paint over, and I noticed right away that your execution (pun hahaha) of this paint over had a more intentional feel to it is you painted.

I keep aiming to do a little good along the way, and there is PLENTY of room for more good.

LOVED this:

And so.
And so.
Um, and so - what then?

lola

1/26/2026 03:05:27 pm

Dotty! I am chuckling at your "execution" pun! Yaaaassss! And there definitely was an intention beginning this piece. Thank you so much for loving it! Yay!

Little bits of good is what we can do without hesitation. Your own creating and writing and sharing is doing BIG BIG good in the world. Thank you for it. xo

Carl Stoveland

1/26/2026 07:52:45 am

I’m haunted as I go through my daily life about how to stop the monsters. What do we do when compliance gives them a win and defiance can also be turned into a win. I can escape into my painting and my teaching, but that only makes me feel better for so long. Leaving the country is an option, but that only helps me and mine. How do we get our country back the one we learned about in school? When we were the good guys. Did that really exist? Maybe not as much as I thought growing up. It was certainly way more fragile than I ever realized. The corporations are complicit in not standing up is the power of the purse the viable weapon of the people. I’m awake most nights looking for an exit ramp for the people. I wish I could say I’ve come up with a good idea.

1/26/2026 03:07:58 pm

Carl! They want us to be stirring in our own distress, I think. "Certainly way more fragile" - yes! OMG! Is this not what we are all realizing right now? As all the experts are saying, we may not "get our country back" but will instead reimagine a new one, with better guardrails and more compassion. But first, slaying the current monsters with all the good we can do.

Thank you always for your insightful comments. xo

Thea

1/26/2026 12:16:55 pm

The monsters are big today! ACKKK!
Taking action is one of the only things that settles my soul for a bit.
I found what I think is a reputable Go Fund Me for a guy donating his time and truck to tow the cars back to the families of the people abducted out of their cars on the streets of Minnesota by ICE. Apparently, ICE just leaves the cars open and running and leaves the scene?

1/26/2026 12:28:40 pm

Brilliant! That's the kind of thing I can get behind and will research stuff like that.

Carl

1/26/2026 03:08:41 pm

Thea! This is a fabulous suggestion for doing good! I will follow your lead here. A practical, immediate help. YES! xo

Lezlie A Schwarck

2/21/2026 04:06:18 pm

I am the one who bought your original work of "Burn the Map". I absolutely love it! I live in Eastern Washington and this piece reminds me of the Palouse area of wheat fields. I have recently moved to a new house and this artwork hangs in my living room. Love it so much, feel so lucky to have gotten this piece. Thank you for your creativity!

2/21/2026 04:29:52 pm

Lezlie!!! Oh I am so delighted to "meet" you here! And absolutely thrilled this piece reminded you of an area nearby. My husband and I often hike the eastern Columbia River Gorge in Washington, and it is a big influence on my abstract work.

Thanks so much for adding "Burn The Map" to your art collection! I am deeply honored. xoxoxo

Burn The Map

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