Captain described himself as a decorator rather than as an artist, at least towards the end of his life. He boasted of having given up painting in favor of "decorating" three-dimensional objects, and surely he decorated far more objects than he painted more traditionally -- but paint he did, and some of those works remain in circulation.
I had a call on Saturday from someone in St. Augustine who wanted to know if there was an active market for C.O.'s work, as he had come into possession of two of his signed paintings.
I had to say truthfully that no such market seems to have arisen, at least not to my knowledge, despite the fact that the body of his work is extensive. There is one person I know of, here in Key West, who did acquire a substantial quantity of his paintings and decorated objects. And I know not what became of the pieces that remained in the Captain Outrageous Gallery when he died in 2007, other than that they became the property of his heirs and his former business partner, and were moved to storage soon thereafter.
It's unfortunate that the Captain didn't maintain a catalog of what he painted and sold. I hope this year to expand the web sites I helped him to create, and that I now maintain, with more photographs that I have filed away.
I, myself, only have one piece of his original work, a round, outdoor table that is clearly his work, but is unsigned.
We once had two bicycles that he painted for us, my wife and I. Mine was stolen, and Janet's was sold.
It would be fitting if he received the recognition that his legacy deserves. I'm just not sure how such recognition develops.
Fame is, as they say, fleeting.
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