Whatever Lola Wants

Whatever Lola Wants

"Whatever Lola Wants" - oil on paper, 15 x 22.  Available here and at Artfinder.

Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets
I always get (what, what, what)
What I aim for (what, what)
And your heart and soul is what I came for
 - Jerry Ross / Richard Adler

Welcome to Lola-land, which is also la-la-la-la-lola-land and is now officially www.lolajovan.com.  Whoa.  That's pretty sweet.

This is the story of Lola.
​

Many years ago, when I first started down this creative path, I painted a self-portrait and called her "Lola" - my alter-ego and badass inner wild child.  Her unstoppable persona was what I mentally put on for gallery openings, public talks and other swashbuckling events where my art was on display and my person was anxious or lacking confidence.

Later, when the universe tossed a couple of life grenades at me and sent me into a tailspin,  becoming more Lola-like was the way I survived.  What would Lola do?  

And then one day, my incredible partner, knowing the name and its significance to me, began calling me Lola.

​Now it is one thing to hear your inner badass name in your mind as you give yourself a pep-talk or a boost of confidence, but it is another thing entirely to hear it spoken by another.  There is big, BIG power in that.  Major mojo.

It gave me permission (permission I very much needed, apparently) to become Lola.

The final step in lolafication was acquiring the domain for this website and a new email address to complete the outfit. 

​And so, here I am, fully lola-fied.  Oh my!

---

About the art:  beginning with an inspiration photo from the 1960's and an old painting covered in gesso, creating a rough sketch and adding thin layers of oil paints to form an underpainting of the figure.

Covering the entire piece with liquin-thinned paint and dragging a rubber wedge, using it to carve in some texture and leave dark deposits.  Adding back the highlights with a brush and thick oil paint.  Oooooh la la!

​Check out a little glimpse of the process here, or click on the photo to the right.