28 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY NOVEMBER 12-18, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com ART Monica Loncola has many talents. Many of them become strikingly obvious when she sits and, if time allows, draws behind a simple desk on an October afternoon in the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History’s Bird Gallery. She is surrounded by her exhibit— titled On the Edge of the Pacific, on display until January—and she is trying to finish an albatross in full span. But her talent as a conversationalist is taking over. Loncola has a way of sharing her joy and bewilderment upon encountering a particularly fun strawberry anemone, for example. The appeal is her authenticity. As a nature illustrator, Loncola purses all possible media. She immortalizes pen shells she found piled under a tree, a yellow tube sponge she met when snorkeling in Baja and dried holdfasts along the Pacific coast, where kelp beds are found. She moved from oil on canvas to pencil on coquille board without a blink and says she tried all media available. “I love chemistry,” she says. “I love understanding materials and techniques.” With the same simplicity, Loncola shares how her adventure with art and California started. She was on the East Coast, visiting Washington, D.C. One day, she explored Georgetown, sat down and made a drawing of a house. An owner approached her and bought the painting. Loncola understood that she can support herself as an artist if she shows initiative. Moving to California was the next step. It started with a cousin living in the state. Some time later, Loncola opened her first art studio, in Stinson Beach. Loncola arrived in Monterey County in 2023 to go back to school and now holds a master’s certification in science illustration from CSU Monterey Bay. Moved by her father’s death, she started a new chapter in her life, concentrating on capturing the beauty of the coast on its micro level. “It was a deep dive for me,” she says about the process and the body of work she had produced since then. Some of her works shown in the exhibit comes from a 2024 internship at the Western Flyer Foundation after graduation, including watercolors of the famous boat itself. Monica Loncola: On the Edge of the Pacific is on display until Jan. 3 at Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, 165 Forest Ave, Pacific Grove. Loncola is part of the museum’s “Art on Tap” panel discussion at 5:307:30pm on Thursday, Nov. 12. pgmuseum.org. AGATA POPĘDA Sea Power Nature illustrator Monica Loncola engages audiences with her work and her authenticity. By Agata Popęda When science meets art, things get colorful and dense in subject matter. Monica Loncola’s explorations of the coast delight the eye at P.G. Museum of Natural History. 101 WORD STORY CONTEST First Prize is $101 2nd and 3rd place winners receive gift certificates! We’ll publish the winners in our December 24, 2026 issue 1. All stories must contain the word “rain” or “reign” (or rained, reigning, etc.) 2. Stories may contain fewer than 101 words. 3. If a hyphenated word can be broken into two (or more) free-standing words it will be counted as two (or more) words. 4. Abbreviations are counted as one word. (“CA” or “California,” it’s still one word.) 5. Contractions are counted as one word. (“Isn’t” is one word; “is not” is two.) 6. Titles are not counted and are not necessary. 7. We reserve the right to re-title stories. 8. Poems are not acceptable. 9. Limit 3 entries per person. 10. If you mail in your entry, it must be submitted on 8.5 x 11 inch paper. Upload stories at: www.montereycountynow.com/101words or by mail: Monterey County Weekly 101-Word Short Story Contest 668 Williams Ave., Seaside CA 93955 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2 Write your name, address and phone number on each page you submit. Monterey County Weekly assumes no responsibility for returning submissions. PRINT | WEB | MOBILE DECEMBER 25-31, 2025 MONTEREYCOUNTYNOW.COM LOCAL & INDEPENDENT TEEZER 00 | FIRST PLACE GENERAL EXCELLENCE • 2025 CA JOURNALISM AWARDS • The spotlight shines on the winners of the Weekly’s annual 101 word short story contest. p. xx LIT 101 www.montereycountynow.com DECEMBER 11-17, 2025 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 37 9 ® Carmel OFFICIAL FIRST NIGHT MONTEREY PROGRAM INSIDE Challenge Word for 2026: Rain or Reign. All stories must contain the word. (or rained, or reigning, etc.) Get Writing Deadline Dec. 2
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