SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Local artist Matt Diggs has been a Lenny Kravitz fan his entire life.
So when he went to see the music legend in concert in Washington D.C. this past September he brought along a painting he did of the artist in hopes of having the work signed. After the show Kravitz signed the piece.
Diggs says it was a moment he’ll never forget.
“Lenny Kravitz is like my hero, you know, like a rock star, does all different types of styles of music,” said Diggs. “And we were in the front row, standing room only, general admission, so we got there super early, got in the front. We hang the painting over the rail and he looked at it, he saw it and it was really cool, a really cool moment and at the end of the concert he ended up signing it.”
Diggs took the painting to a Michaels on University Blvd. in Suffolk to have it framed. Then this past Saturday he says he got a disconcerting call from one of the store managers.
“She says ‘hey, I got some really bad news, I hate that I have to be the one to tell you this, but we cannot find the painting. We have no idea where it is.'”
Diggs reported the missing artwork to the police and got in touch with Michael’s corporate offices. Both entities wanted to know the value of something Matt Diggs considered priceless.
“I told them $20,000,” Diggs said. “As the artist, if I had to sell it, I wouldn’t have sold it for anything less than $20,000.”
On Tuesday evening Diggs says he received a call from the store manager saying the painting had been found at a recycling plant.
When Diggs got the painting back, it was damaged beyond repair.
Diggs says he’s skeptical of the entire incident and will continue with the police report.
