Lola Jovan Art Musings and Random Thoughts

Not A Monster

7/7/2025

Not A Monster

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Not a Monster
pen and ink on wood panel
8 x 12 x .76 inches
This item is unframed but ready to hang
(click on the image to purchase)

Scooby Doo taught us that the real monsters were always human - UNKNOWN

Last week was monstrous.

Many of us are walking around in a bit of shock, under a layer of grief and with our heads in our hands. And we must and should give a bit of time to those feelings.

The shock of the wide world implications of everything going on landed hard with me because of shipping.

Shipping? Yep, shipping.

Last month's Reader Giveaway winner is located in Israel. So Wonder Mike and I wrapped her prize with care, measured and weighed it and went online to get a shipping label. But no planes (NO PLANES!) are flying to Israel now. Wait, what?

It is a small thing, not the end of the world (the package will wait patiently until planes fly there again) but it kind of jarred me into awakeness. The state of things is trickling down to the every day, and systems unraveling, the day-to-day less certain.

Which sent a flood of awareness coursing over me - all the people whose benefits, jobs, housing, education, food, utilities, medical care and citizenship are at stake now. First a trickle, then the flood.

But we see you, human monsters. We see you and we vote. We protest, we write letters and send emails and make phone calls. We see you.

About the art: Wonder Mike posed for this one! The brave little guy had no hesitation about landing in the embrace of this jovial monster. Beginning with a varnished piece of wood panel, I added black gesso around the sketch of the figure to ground him to the background. Working from the faces and hands outward, patiently adding each line with a Rotring Tikky Graphic Art pen number 3, filling in with a number 8. A few white highlights (the dog's face and the monster's teeth) with a Posca paint pen. Then a coat of varnish over the entire piece to set the ink and protect it from fading.

The July Reader Giveaway begins! This month's giveaway piece is an oil painting on driftwood from the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. It is ready to hang, varnished, hanging hardware on the back. approximately 5 x 18 inches.

To enter, leave a comment on any blog post during the month of July. The winner will be announced on August 4th right here in the blog.

Ready? Set? GO!

14 Comments

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Lola Jovan

Dorothy H Seiter

7/6/2025 06:52:30 pm

I recognized Wonder Mike immediately!

Lola, I am in awe of your line drawing magnificence—am fascinated by the juxtaposition of creating form, shape, and likenesses against what I assume is the very meditative act of creating the repetitive lines that become shadow. Plus, I love that you know to use black gesso to ground the figure to the background.

---

And, yep, we see you, human monsters.

lola

7/7/2025 02:59:09 pm

Dotty!!!! Wonder Mike is BEAMING at your recognition!

Thank you for enjoying the line drawing...it is, indeed, very meditative (well, that is until I make a mistake and have to begin aaaaalllllll over again! ha ha!). But the implications of mistake-making force me to be extremely present. That's a good thing. And it takes my mind off of the human monsters for a bit. xo

Carol Edan link

7/7/2025 10:59:58 am

Not a monster, a kind gremlin. Mighty Mike, hope you held your pose!
Funny how we take things for granted, no planes... they will return.. the $ will call them back. Being isolated for this and that, almost second nature. We have our own monsters, took our government weeks to finally bring home thousands (more than 30) stranded because of cancelled flights.
Yes, we see you you monsters out there!
I still don't get the process. Guess I need a video!

7/7/2025 03:00:18 pm

Carol!!! Thank you for your patience with the planes and shipping...and for your tenacity and resilience in dealing with the monsters.

You want a video? I will make one! Give me a little time and I will document the process for you. And thank you for the suggestion! xoxo

Carl Stoveland

7/7/2025 11:34:38 am

I’ve been walking vs around for a while now. I’m a raw nerve about the state of the world. The detention camp built in the Everglades is wrong on soooo many levels. To protect myself I’ve taken to painting even more. The good news is I’ve managed to paint a few images I’ve struggled with in the past. Thank goodness for Art it rescues me again and again.
This weeks painting is great. I love that Woder Mike found his way into your work.

7/7/2025 03:02:00 pm

Carl!!! That's right - I forgot you have Alligator Concentration Camp right there in your backyard! Are there protests outside of it, I wonder?

And you are taking this turmoil and knocking it out of the park with your recent paintings. Got a backyard full of stinky detention lemons? You are making art lemonade! x0

Thea

7/7/2025 02:03:52 pm

Thanks for your story about shipping to Israel. It is easy to forget what is real right now. Listening to your voice this week was very grounding. Gave me the energy to write another letter. Bless you.And hope Wonder Mike is basking in his fame this evening.

7/7/2025 03:03:15 pm

Thea!!! I am so delighted you found my voice (and perhaps the sound of rock tumblers echoing in the distant background?) as grounding. Yay! Write more letters - YES YES YES!

And our little diva dog is indeed basking in his fame. He just might become a little monster himself! ha! xoxo

Bryan Engler

7/7/2025 03:54:53 pm

I love finding random things to paint on. I would have never thought of this. My first thought when I see driftwood is how perfect it is for my bearded dragon enclosure. The flow of this is fits so perfectly!

7/7/2025 04:40:07 pm

Bryan!! Hello and welcome to the blog! Random things to paint on are amazing, right? what's the most random thing you've ever put paint upon?

I love that you have a bearded dragon enclosure....OOOOOH! Fingers crossed that Wonder Mike chooses your name on August 4th! Thanks so much for commenting! xi

7/8/2025 02:01:38 pm

Broken skateboard decks from the skatepark. Old wooden planters. Old wooden lantern. About to start on a skimboard. Lottery Scratchers. Foreign currency. Whatever really. Usually end up more of an experiment, than a success though.

7/8/2025 04:15:45 pm

Lottery scratchers! Foreign currency! WHOA! Now you have my mind racing over random things I could paint! WOOHOOOOO!

Sara Van Horn

7/21/2025 11:21:01 am

The real monsters disguise themselves well. They hide the monstrosity in their hearts. Animals are always good at sniffing them out. It's scary how they keep getting away with their monstrous antics - unchecked. It makes me feel more weak, vulnerable and lost. Maybe that's by design though. The more I give in to those thoughts the weaker I become. I really don't know how to get to a place of happiness and stop isolating myself. Maybe by trying to find a way to bring cheer to others. Maybe we can all bring strength and encouragement to each other that way if we find moments of rebellion through joy.

7/21/2025 05:37:46 pm

Sara!!! The monsters are real, disguised or otherwise. And their antics - just as you say - keep us feeling weak and vulnerable by design.

You are so adept at sharing your story, being vulnerable, seeing the world through the art you curate and the vignettes you create in your space. These things bring hope, strength and encouragement to others! I know that I feel uplifted every time I see your tender care in the spaces you create. Hmmmm - maybe you could be a space whisperer for others, too????? xoxox

Not A Monster

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