'Awesome painting': Chris Jericho likes Calgary artist's portrait after Martha Hart's Jeep is pinched
6,000 shipping containers at Calgary-area CN rail yard feels like thief’s haven, says Owen Hart Foundation
A Calgary artist's portrait of an iconic professional wrestler is getting love online but for all the wrong reasons.
"I was trying to elevate it a little bit more to a work of art," Kim Parrent told CBC News in an interview.
"Wrestling is art and there is a lot of costume and persona and just skill involved. That's sort of what I was trying to convey in that painting."
But that painting — of veteran wrestler Chris Jericho who trained at the infamous Hart Dungeon in Calgary — was recently stolen.
Parrent created the portrait to be auctioned off as a fundraiser for the Owen Hart Foundation. Owen Hart fell to his death after an equipment malfunction at a 1999 live pay-per-view event. His widow, Martha Hart, set up the foundation to honour his legacy with community initiatives.
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"Chris is a dear friend. The reason why I had the picture was because he was supposed to originally be coming to the Calgary [AEW Wrestling] show, so I brought it because he was going to sign it for me so it would be more valuable for our online auction," Martha Hart told CBC News in a telephone interview from England.
That painting was in Martha Hart's Jeep Rubicon when it was stolen from her sister's house in the Balmoral area of northwest Calgary in the early hours of July 27.
"It wasn't just my painting, it was a bunch of valuables in that Jeep. The Jeep itself, just for the charity," Parrent explained.
She said the portrait was worth roughly $4,500 without Jericho's autograph, based on previous sales.
When news of the theft hit social media, a certain AEW wrestler weighed in.
"Sorry to hear about this!" Chris Jericho commented to his 4.3-million Instagram followers.
"That's an awesome painting too!"
Martha Hart's Jeep was taken to a CN rail yard near Calgary — according to a tracking device that was in it — where it may be sitting in one of more 6,000 shipping containers, called sea cans, according to Hart and Alberta RCMP.
The Mounties say some sea cans have been seized and police are looking at additional search warrants. CN Police would only confirm they are assisting with the investigation.
- LISTEN: As Calgary artist Kim Parrent describes how a few kind words from pro wrestler Chris Jericho really made her day
- WATCH: As Martha Hart shares the frustration of having her car stolen full of fundraising merchandise for the foundation she runs.
But with so many containers to search, Martha Hart isn't holding her breath.
"This is the most frustrating thing that we know where the car is but now we can't find it and the police aren't able to obtain warrants for 6,000 sea cans to explore them all," she said.
"How does this happen and how can it happen so quickly? You know, it seems like a thief's haven, would be my take on it."
Meanwhile, artist Parrent — whose work is currently being featured in a Fort Calgary ART SPOT exhibition — says she's got fresh motivation.
"All I can do is paint another one, move on," Parrent said.
"Wrestlers get hit and they get back up, so that's what I am going to do. And having a message from Chris Jericho was good motivation to do that, so thank you to Chris."
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