Art finds its way, People.
Strange story.
A fan from Seattle reached out to me on IG DM. He said he came across a painting at an estate sale by ‘Lynn Shelton.’ He sent me a little pic of the painting and a close up of the signature. Sadly, I was not really with Lynn long enough to be entirely familiar with her signature and/or whether she did any real painting in her past. The piece was dated 9/16/83.
I also thought that Lynn would’ve been pretty young but from the picture it looked like something she may be interested in or aspire to based on a piece she bought not long before she died. A sculpture, plastic, encaustic I think, molded on wood. Lines. Colors. Like the painting in the picture the guy found.
I told him I would like to have it if that’s what he was asking. I offered to pay him for whatever he paid and to have it shipped. He said I could just pay for shipping which came out to like 195 bucks. Which I thought was a lot but I had no idea how large the piece was. I had gotten it in my mind that this painting may be a portal into Lynn’s creativity that I had no idea about.
The painting arrived. It’s HUGE. I can’t tell if it’s a print or a painting. It’s like 50”x35”. Big. It looked like a fully realized pro job. Real painter stuff. I found an imprint on the paper from the paper mill. Fancy pulp. It wasn’t that I didn’t think Lynn could do it but if she had it would’ve been under some kind of mentorship. I assumed.
I texted her friend Jennifer and asked if she thought Lynn could’ve done this. She said maybe but she would ask Lynn’s brother. He said she would’ve been at Oberlin for her first year at that time and he didn’t really remember her painting. He asked their mom who also didn’t recall her painting. She would’ve been right out of high school at that time.
Someone told me that it was probably not the exact date but a print. Nine being the number out of the 16 made in 1983. So, that means she could’ve had a whole year to do it. It still felt a little like a stretch.
It was seeming less and less possible that it was the same Lynn Shelton. I found one painting on an auction site by another Lynn Shelton. An abstract from 1965. I put it out in the world on IG that I was trying to figure it out. Some folks found a NYT piece on the art and prints of Lynn Shelton and his collaboration with Karl Springer who makes furniture. Has to be the guy.
Why this piece ended up at an estate sale in Seattle I have no idea. There is literally no other information about him that I can find. I’ll reach out to Karl Springer’s company. We’ll see.
The bottom line is I actually love the piece. I hung it in my bedroom. It sends me, somehow. Abstract is hard. This one works for me. Somehow I still look into it and the depth and space it creates connects me to something bigger, maybe somewhere else, maybe the Lynn I loved is out there somewhere. Part of the big frequency.
Today I talk to Helen Hunt about all the Helen Hunt stuff. On Thursday I talk to Jackson Browne about the Jackson Browne stuff and more, actually. Great talks!
Enjoy!
Boomer, Monkey and LaFonda live!
Love,
Maron