A Hamilton artist thought one of her paintings worth over $7,000 had gone missing during shipping but it turns out the missing artwork was in the hands of someone on the East Coast.

Julia Veenstra has been painting for over 30 years and this is the first time one of her creations has gone missing.

This unnamed piece worth $7,500 was ordered by a customer through a gallery in Kelowna.

“I shipped it out with a company called Day and Ross and they lost it,” said Julia.

After a couple of weeks, it turns out it wasn’t lost.

“I was working here in my studio and I got a random phone call from a lovely lady on the East Coast, who said I got a painting of yours on auction and you’re a hard person to get a hold of, I figured out your name from your signature,” said Julia.

Turns out her $7,500 painting was sold by a 3rd party auction online for a fraction of the price.

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“I asked her what did you pay for my $7,500 painting, she said $92.”

Julia then explained to the woman who received her painting that it had ended up in her hands by mistake.

She said, “Oh my goodness, I’m going to have to do the right thing and give you back this painting.”

Right now the painting that went missing doesn’t have a name, but because of what it went through Julia does have an idea.

“I think I’m going to call it lost and found.”

The painting is now on its way to Kelowna being delivered to the original buyer and the shipping company Day and Ross who lost it is covering the cost.

Julia said she plans to send the woman who returned her painting another original painting.

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