“Captain Kenny” Neizman holds one of his imaginative murals. Known as “the Picasso of the Pacific,” Neizman was a prolific Maui artist from the 1970s until his death in 2003. PHOTO COURTESY OF EDWARD MONTGOMERY FINE ART.

LAHAINA — “Captain Kenny” Neizman was a legendary Lahaina character — a large, rotund man who walked the streets pushing a shopping cart full of his artwork or sat under a tree sketching and sharing his unique perspectives on life with anyone who stopped by to chat.

Those who saw his artwork were often astounded. His whimsical portrayals of fish and marine life were not only colorful but richly creative and memorable.

Kenneth Roland Neizman was born in 1932 and died in 2003.

He grew up on Maui, and after graduating from high school worked at Pioneer Mill Company as a laborer in the sugar cane fields.

Neizman eventually quit the harsh work in the fields and landed a job on a commercial fishing boat. He loved being out on the water and was fascinated with the undersea world and all of its creatures.

Through dedication and hard work, Neizman eventually saved up enough money to buy his own fishing boat and truly became “The Captain” in the mid-1960s.

One of his favorite sayings was: “IN GOD WE FISHING!”

Cash was rolling in from selling fresh fish in Lahaina, but Neizman wasn’t good at bookkeeping or paying his taxes on time. He was also fond of “relaxing” at the bars in Lahaina after unloading his day’s catch.

According to his biography at captainkennyshop.com, “A combination of tax issues and too much ‘relaxing’ finally caught up with him, and by the early 1970s, Captain Kenny was without a boat, broke, and had developed a serious ‘relaxing’ problem. This was also when the legend was born.”

As Captain Kenny told it, while he was partying in an oceanfront park one afternoon, a coconut fell from a palm tree, landed directly on his head and knocked him out cold.

When he woke up in the hospital, his vision was blurry and the doctor’s glasses looked strange.

Illustrating the experience for friends resulted in Captain Kenny’s first work of art on a bar napkin: “The Eyeglasses Fish.” The drawing depicted an other-worldly underwater creature with a big toothy grin, geometric scales, four fins and a broad tail. It had wide, piercing eyes, and, of course, the doctor’s glasses.

“For the next 25 years or so, even after he was admitted to Kula Sanitorium Hospital on the slopes of Haleakala for long-term care, ‘Captain Kenny’ was a full-time artist. His cast of characters grew to include dozens of species, all of them born of his imagination, and many of them blossoming from everyday objects, a la the ‘Eyeglasses Fish,’ “ the biography explains.

They include the “Ice Cream Cone,” “Guitar” and “Scissors” fish, the “Banjo” crab, “Crabster” (half crab, half lobster), “Honeymooning Sea Turtles,” High Cost of Living” fish, “Heart” fish and popular “Octopus Bartender.”

With his star on the rise, The Maui News dubbed him “the Picasso of the Pacific” in 1977. One of its columnists, Tom Stevens, wrote about encountering Neizman “… pushing through the starlit back streets of Lahaina a shopping cart full of extraordinary art. While generic whales or seascapes brought thousands in nearby galleries, Captain Kenny gave away vivid felt-pen renderings of toothy sea creatures as original as anything Grandma Moses ever did.”

Captain Kenny made use of whatever he had at the moment. He would work with paint and brushes, but he also liked the look — and cost — of marking pens, especially the gold and silver metallic ones. If he didn’t have paper or canvas, his art was applied to just about anything — lampshades; pretty girls; cars; surfboards; boats; coconuts; blue jeans; swim trunks; toilet seats; shower curtains; dinner plates; napkins; menus; and even himself!

According to his biography, “His method of marketing was to load up a shopping cart with his latest creations and wander around Lahaina Town to attract tourists. Just the sight of him was a tourist attraction. He was a large, rotund individual usually sporting a white beard, giving him the appearance of a Hawaiian Santa Claus.”

By the early 1980s, with direct flights to Maui and the visitor industry growing, Neizman’s art was popular. Collectors included superstars of the day, such as Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Carole Burnette, Elton John, Stevie Nicks, Rod Stewart, George Harrison, Robin Williams, Richard Pryor, Brian Wilson and Dustin Hoffman. An original Captain Kenny painting even found its way to the map room of the “Calypso,” Jacques Cousteau’s famous research vessel. Neizman was very proud of that.

Today, a large collection of Captain Kenny’s artwork can be found at Edward Montgomery Fine Art in Carmel, California. “The market for Captain Kenny’s original paintings and drawings is strong,” noted Edward Montgomery Waznis, the gallery’s owner and director.

“Over the past few years and somehow even during Covid, sales have steadily grown.”

Art fans and people wanting to learn more about Neizman and his artwork can visit captainkennyshop.com.

The website offers T-shirts and hoodies, accessories, books, prints and posters, and stickers with Neizman’s art.

Ninety percent of what’s available now is essentially brand new to the line, and the gallery plans to add more on a consistent basis.

Montgomery Gallery entered into an exclusivity agreement with Captain Kenny in 1985. The Lahaina gallery transported its significant collection of original Neizman paintings and drawings when it relocated to the Mainland in 1989.

Edward said, “I’ve held on to most of my more valuable originals so far, but in order to help finance the Captain Kenny Collection launch, I have selectively sold several very good pieces, including one exceptional mural (four feet by 18 feet). My most recent original sale was this month.”

“With prices growing, and his work becoming increasingly scarce, I will be making more paintings and drawings available as things progress now. Also, we will continue to publish both limited edition prints and open edition ‘Legacy Prints’ to provide affordable access to everyone who wants a Captain Kenny on their walls.”

He said that original Neizman works — depending on medium, condition, size, year and other factors — are currently appraised at four to six figures.

Limited Edition Estate and Open Edition Legacy prints (both posthumous) currently sell at three to four figures.

“Kenny always said, ‘When I die, my work will be worth a million dollars!’ It could happen. ‘Outsider Art’ is a thriving segment of the Fine Art Market. There is no debate about Captain Kenny’s place in that category. But he’s even further ‘outside’ than most, having spent nearly his entire life on a beautiful little island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, completely sheltered from the traditional Art World,” Edward explained.

“Christie’s auctioned a Bill Traylor (1854-1949) painting a few years ago for $507,000, and since then, the interest in this school of art has really heated up. Traylor was just the beginning, I think. So, a million for Captain Kenny? Time will tell.”