Ten Minutes With San Clemente Fine Artist Lyn Hiner

"Stefan"

The SEMA Show in Las Vegas has become one of the largest annual events in that city, a bi-product of the auto aftermarket, and like the city itself it is awash with bling. This show is all about cars, and everything they've come to represent -- fascinating, fashionable, famous and fabulous, eye-popping, stimulating, and altogether desirable. 165,000 people arrive from out-of-town for the week-long event, a pop-up Mecca of sorts that sprawls over and spills out of the Las Vegas Convention Center like a raucous river of glitz.

One of my own favorite places to linger while exploring the expansive halls and corridors of the show is a quiet corner near the escalators conveying convention-goers to the South Hall from the Central. This is where you will find a temporary art gallery featuring artists and painters who share a common passion for cars. One of these whose work was available for sale last month is Lyn Hiner, a San Clemente painter who works with pallet knives.

EN: When did you first sense that you had something of an "artist gene"?

Lyn Hiner: I knew early on that creating was something I loved to do. When I was very young, I would spend hours burning through a box of crayons with construction paper creating fanciful pictures from my imagination. In high school, I took every form of art class I could, including a drafting class. I wanted to experience it all. I was grateful I was accepted to four of the five art schools I applied for, but chose Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY, as the place I wanted to extend my art education. Sadly, due to unforeseen issues, I was only there one year. However, what I learned in that year helped to steer me through my subsequent journey with creating.

EN: Where did you grow up and who were your biggest influences?

LH: Boy, that’s a tough question! I actually lived in a variety of places through my childhood years… I was born in Santa Barbara, CA, and spent the first 10 years of my life around that area. In 1977, while our family was on an extended camping trip, there was a devastating fire that destroyed our home along with many others. A couple of years later, we moved to Incline Village on the north shore of Lake Tahoe in the high Sierra mountains. And a few years after that, I went to live with my father outside of Portland, OR. From there I went to school in New York, then moved back to Santa Barbara to make it on my own. I eventually landed in the small beach community of San Clemente, where I’ve lived the last 25 years.

As for influences, I’m so grateful for my parents exposing me to galleries and museums during my childhood. Early on, my influences would be everything I saw in nature, and as I grew up and was exposed to different mediums and techniques, and master artists, my wide range of influences would include: Monet, O’Keefe, Van Gogh, Rothko, among others. Their use of color, texture and layering would be my greatest influences in my current series.

EN: What prompted you to seriously pursue art as a career?

"Cheri"

LH: It was a life event that happened nearly six years ago. I was at the beach with my girls where we were hunting for interesting and beautiful rocks. It was a tradition I carried on from when I was a kid. Anyway, a few hours later, one of those rocks I picked up ended up being a piece of white phosphorus, which ignited in my shorts pocket severely burning my legs and hand. Ten days in the hospital with two major surgeries, plus a year of additional minor surgeries and occupational therapy changed the course of mine and my family's lives.

When the dust settled and everything seemed to be adjusting back to normal, my husband asked me an important question: “What do you think about going back to work, even part time?” To put some perspective on that question, outside of consulting for a few conferences and teaching art privately, I hadn’t held a job for nearly 15 years (which flew by, I must say). I hadn’t created anything in years, and so I said let me pray about it. Within a week, I felt God had clearly said to me 'I want you to paint. I gave you this gift and it’s time to use it.' I realize that likely sounds weird to some folks, and I’ll be honest, it didn’t make sense to me to start something I hadn’t done in so long, let alone had no experience in the industry, but I couldn’t ignore what I heard. Even my husband was a little perplexed, but supported me when I asked him to give me a year and let’s see where this goes. That was four years ago.

Reverse Assumption 1

I have to say, God has been extremely gracious to me on this journey. I didn’t start out painting cars, but instead originally went back to what was familiar nearly 30 years ago. Over the first year of pursuing art professionally, through experimentation and exposure to other talented contemporaries, I developed my own style and ‘voice’ with creating. This led to a series of works I named “Beauty From Ashes” which is a conversation through art I had with God about my painful journey after being burned and how I see the joy and beauty that was there throughout all the difficulties. He was present, even in my darkest moments. That series has pieces throughout the United States and Europe and has been my most successful to date. I also have an Abstract series and most recently, “Cars” which was started after a collector commissioned me to do his car for his new office. It happened to be a silver Porsche 911, so there was no way I was saying no! I absolutely loved creating “Stefan: Dreams Realized” which was 40” x 30”, acrylic on canvas, for this client.

Interestingly, I found on social media, many others liked the piece so much, I decided to try my hand at another beautiful machine, a red Shelby Cobra I had photographed at a local car event. I liked that piece even better! Then I started on a blue Mustang Fastback, and it was around the time I was finishing that piece that I was invited to be a part of the Art Walk at SEMA. They graciously made space for me, so I knew I needed to get to work creating a cohesive series to debut at the show. Although I worked on 10 pieces, I only brought nine with me. They are the heart of what I enjoy creating: beautiful, fast, iconic primarily performance cars. Created with layer after layer of deliciously thick paint carved onto canvas with palette knives. If I haven’t said it yet… I love what I do, and I’m humbly grateful I get to make a living doing it!

EN: How many years have you been coming to the SEMA Show to show/sell your work?

LH: This was my first year exhibiting my art, and what a launch it was! Although 20 years ago, I was coming as an exhibitor working for Performance Racing Industry as their Trade Show Manager, but the show has grown quite a bit in my absence, so it was a bit overwhelming the first few days.

EN: Are people sometimes surprised when they find that Lyn Hiner is a woman painting cars?

LH: This question makes me laugh, but for the best reason. Nearly every person who I met at the show seemed surprised I was the artist. Whether or not it was because I was a woman, didn’t specifically come up, but I was the only female artist represented and for that, I am humbly grateful.

EN: Where did your interest in cars stem from?

LH: I have a long history with performance cars. When I was very young, my dad used to rebuild and race his Porsche 911. So I grew up around the sights, sounds, and smells (and speed) of those beautiful machines!

Back then, kids didn’t sit in the back seat, let alone were we strapped in. When I would sit next to my dad, he would put my hand on the stick shift, and guide me to when to move the car into the next gear. I loved it! Thus began my love of fast cars.

When being an artist didn’t seem to be the best way to earn a living in my early 20’s, after a few odd jobs, I found myself working at PRI in Laguna Beach. What an incredible experience that was. I not only learned invaluable lessons on business and marketing, I got to be around racing… and not only that, but the owner, Steve Lewis, would give the whole company opportunities to race cars! I was in heaven!! Whether it was karts at a private track, Formula Ford’s at Willow Springs, you name it, we did it. And being highly competitive in my younger years, I always went out and did my best.

Gabrielle: She Roars, She Purrs

EN: Do you have a favorite "car story"?

LH: There are quite a few… but one of my favorites includes my husband, Rob, who also worked at PRI. One of our annual treks to Willow Springs, we got to race on the small track against our co-workers, and I was racing against Rob and a couple others. Now I won’t say who won that day, but let's just say, the argument persists to this day that one of us believes it was him and the other one knows it was me.

EN: In reading your blog it would appear that your faith is an important part of your life. What impact does your faith have on your art?

LH: Thank you for asking that question. Faith is instrumental in everything I do, especially my art, which continues to be a dialogue of sorts with the Creator of the universe and it is in the creative process I feel especially close to God.

I became a Christian as an adult, and I have to say, it was the most profound decision of my life. Through good times and particularly through the painful times, God has been my source of strength, inspiration, joy, and perseverance through it all. It is by His grace that I do what I do, including, but not limited to creating art.

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Thank you, Lyn, for sharing your story here with us.

You can find more of Lyn Hiner's work at LynHiner.com

Meantime, art goes on all around you. Engage it.