My Secret Weapon: Most superheroes have a sidekick. Batman and Robin, The Pink Pather and that guy always attacking him. I am very lucky to work with a guy that is truly a genius. He knows 10x what ill ever know. He’s a 73-year-old vegetarian and master craftsman Dwight C Brown. I first met Dwight when I was 12 years old. He was one of the people that caught me when I flew out of the drainpipe from California. He and his brother Kevin started “Tiddies” Sandals in Pasadena, Tx a millionaire in his early 20’s! Dwight has been working with Fiberglass since he was 12 years old fixing surfboards for his friends. He has built many landmark Sculptures all over Galveston & Houston he built the Spinning Fish Tails @ Fish Tales Restaurant on the Sea Wall and the Giant Fishing lure inside of Pier 19. He even built the Trojan Horse inside Mattress Mack’s Furniture store, in Houston, Tx.
We started doing projects together back in 2005 when I needed to build a Giant Moose for Claimjumpers Restaurant chain in California. We’ve been working together ever since.
Let Us build your order! You never know what you’ll get…..
Text us a photo of your collection and your guaranteed no duplicates! 832-275-6326
Material: Hydrostone, Hand Painted
Indoor, or under covered patio outside
SEND US YOUR T-SHIRT SIZE AND WE WILL ADD T-SHIRT! 832-275-6326
We started the mystery box, because we have many customers who order frequently, and they always tell us when they receive their order it’s like Christmas Morning! We thought this would be just another fun way for them to be surprised! And they can save money by buying the Mystery box. The $100.00 Mystery box is valued at $140.00. The $50.00 Mystery box is valued at $75.00. We ask them to send us a photo of their collection and we guarantee no duplicates. So, when Corey Sargent Ordered the Mystery Box I recognized the name because they’ve ordered several times, but it had been a few years since I saw the name. I asked to please send the photo so I could pick out the mystery box pieces. Here are the photos they sent above. I actually cried when I opened the photos. I couldn’t believe it! I was able to pick out a few pieces to send them, but it wasn’t easy!!lol!
Mike’s beginning in California: Christmas morning 7:04 am 1966 I was born in Santa Monica hospital the fourth of 5 boys. They brought me home to Topanga Canyon in a Christmas Stocking. This year I turned 56. My friends have accused me of dying my hair because it isn’t grey, I figure it’s more related to a low-stress lifestyle. We grew up Catholic and attended “Our Lady of Malibu”. I remember constantly doodling on my papers, and in first grade, a classmate told me “One day you’ll be a famous cartoonist”. I remember thinking “How cool would that be.” In the fall of 1979 right before Christmas Break there was torrential flooding, the main road into the canyon was washed away. We were elated, no school for who knows how long. A couple of friends and I decided to go exploring and check out all the flood damage. We had our rubber boots and Crossman Bbgun. Eventually, we came to a drainage pipe that went under the main road. It was about six feet high and had a steady flow of water about 4” deep. I went in and jumped side to side and made my way to the bottom exit. The water was blasting into a shallow pool with the main creek thundering brown angry water carrying boulders and pieces of Creekside houses. 100ft down. I tried to wave my friends in so they could see it too. They shook their heads “No”. I started to run back up the pipe jumping from side to side. I made it almost to the top and I guess I was getting tired, and my boot caught the fast-moving water and I fell down. I instantly knew this was going to be bad, I flipped over and dug my nails into the pipe trying to slow down. The pipe had a layer of slippery green moss that let me know, there was no stopping. I curled up and braced for impact. I flew out of the pipe and when I hit the bottom of the icy cold pond, I broke both ankles and gingerly swam to the shore, my boots were filled with water which made them feel like concrete weights. I wouldn’t be walking home. The first person who came down was a reporter from the LA Times. He gave me his jacket and his cowboy hat. It was starting to rain again, I was shivering uncontrollably. A helicopter came in and was hovering above us, they eventually flew away when they decided I wasn’t hurt enough or that it was too dangerous. The fire dept showed up and dragged me up the cliff in a metal gurney. They loaded me onto a large county work truck with a group of workers. One of them gave me his blue beanie and we headed for the top of Topanga. The road was washed out there as well, they hiked me in the gurney across the creek to a waiting Ambulance and ended up at Malibu emergency hospital. I came home in a wheelchair, soon after my parents broke the news they were splitting up and my younger brother Steve and I were going to stay with my Uncle in Texas. I feel like I was shot out of that pipe and landed in Texas. I’ve been here ever since.
A fateful day indeed! Life is filled with surprises; you just never know. A friend of a friend worked at Chuy’s Restaurant in Houston, when she left for College, they gave her a $40.00 gift Certificate. She asked if we wanted to go, we all piled in the car and headed to Austin. After eating I noticed a small sign by the cash register. “Looking For Artists” Six-week art show. I talked with the guy at the register, it was Jay Bunda the original Manager at the Chuys #1 on Barton Springs. He explained that “they were booked up for 3 months…Come back at the 1st of the year”. I went back and started making as many pieces as I could. The studio at school began to fill with Fish With Attitude. Jan 1st 1992 I had my appointment the weather was bad, calling for rain all day. I called around to my friends that had a car. No luck, I would have to make the trip on my Honda XL600. The feeder was closed for construction so I would have to ride down the freeway. It rained the whole way! When I arrived, I had to wring out my shirt to head inside. Jay was there and he loved the fish. I was on!! I came back that Sunday night at closing 10 pm and hung up my first 150 fish. In the main dining area, the walls are pink, with big Classic Car fenders placed around for decoration. He called me the next week and anxiously said “You gotta get down here”! I asked What Happened he said “Every Fish Sold!!” I started selling the fish at 5,10,15.00. for Small, Medium, and Large. Eventually over 30 years the prices now avg. 50.00 –& up to 1,200 Each. It was my big break! It led to the rest of my success! I did work for Whole Foods, and eventually Deck The Walls and also ZZTop. Through Trade Shows in Atlanta, Dallas, and New Orleans we grew to supply over 150 Stores Nationwide and hired over 20 people.
Being a self-employed Artist has a lot of similarities to an outdoor survivalist. You must be self-reliant and think ahead and work through the different seasons, with their ups and downs. Constantly scouring the horizon for opportunities.
The art of fire is a simple concept. The spark starts the flame. You dream up your product and then you sell your product, get the money and repeat the process. Eventually making and selling more and more, building a bigger and bigger fire. For my spark it was an assignment in Ceramics class at Southwest Texas State University. Michele Conroy was my teacher, she wanted a “modular” piece. Something that included several similar pieces. I decided on making a school of fish. My friend Travis Barber was an avid fisherman and tropical fish enthusiast. His house was filled with fish tanks with exotic fish from all over the world. One tank was dedicated to freshwater fish from the San Marcos River, it runs through the Campus. He had several perch, a bass, and catfish. I bought a perch from him; it was still wiggling in the ziplock bag when I brought it into class to make a mold. I paid $10.00 for the fish which I thought was “highway robbery”! Over 30 years that one fish turned into 4 Million dollars of Retail Sales!! As far as stacking the logs we did several things to keep it going. In the beginning, it was Chuys in Austin, Tx was the main source of sales. Then came Deck the Walls Barton Creek Mall in Austin, Tx. This store helped us get into more Deck The Walls across the United States after a New Orleans DTW Trade Show. Then we went from 20 Retail locations to 150 Locations. At this point the fire began to burn out of control we had more sales than we had product. We hired more people and we were trying to produce 200 fish a day. We were shipping out daily!! The 5,000 sq.ft warehouse started looking small. We were building molds, painting fish, and packing fish. Over those 10 years the schedule was non-stop doing trade shows, Art Shows, and Personal appearances at different DTW across the Country doing Fish Signings!! And meanwhile trying to manage 25 employees. Then after 911 the Retail locations started dropping off. Then we decided the Website would be our main focus. We maintained our sales for the next 10 years via the Internet and Mike started part-time with the Power Plant work. However, we were able to maintain the fire and keep it going even though Mike had stepped back from the Art full-time. At this point, he started working on larger-scale Art and really enjoyed just making Art instead of managing other people helping to make his art. He still makes the smaller fish and this is our daily sales, but then he creates the larger Art too. The fire is much more manageable and enjoyable on a smaller scale.
It’s not just fish happening this week at the studio…we have sightings of pelicans and rabbits! These Creatures have tons of attitude and are just waiting to find forever homes. Does your uncle Bob really like walruses? Your mom collect weird giraffes? Do you really like rabbits? Mike can make any animal just let us know and we can start your custom order….He also accepts your off the wall ideas, he loves a good muse. Contact us about reserving yours!
We have a limited supply of mini Santa Hats in the store! Free hat with every $50 fish purchase, while supplies last. If you spend $20 on hats you get free shipping Coupon code santahat
What better way to greet your family this holiday season than a Mike Quinn doormat? None...everything else is boring, overdone, sold at a box store plain. Mike's doormats on the other hand are unique, special and dare I say fabulous? Yes, definitely fabulous. Of course we can't just blindly tell you to go buy a doormat without giving a solid critique of how they look in person. Mike has his doormats printed from Zazzle...this make it affordable and frankly he can't make snazzy fish with a warehouse of goodies. So if you want a cool mug, tee or doormat you'll have to check out His Store. Also sales are going crazy on Zazzle right now and they are good enough to give you coupon codes right in the top of the page...Nice.
Back to the doormat...
The coloring if true to the original art
Quality of the print is spot on, you can even see pencil lines.
And of course by big things we mean big fish! You can see the close up details as Mike sculpts the piece, adding texture and design to every inch. Spots, dots, hand carved texture and even some fun shapes are featured with this fish. The teeth are extra big as per protocol with Mike's work. Big Red here is still a work in progress as he still needs the acetate inlays.
This piece named Little Dave went from concept to sea turtle super star! Some of Mike's art starts with a sketch, Some are just free hand in clay and he makes whatever the mood calls for. The drawing is perfectly rendered in ceramic 3-D form, with a few added quirks and a shiny green paint job. Little Dave came to life, and brought joy and happiness to all that saw him (we hope).
Not only can you find little Dave in the shop on occasion, but his adorable face is on some pretty snazzy products, like pens, mugs, mouse pads, night lights, tees and even super snazzy high tops. Seriously how cool is that?!
The cutout (Top Right) which doubles as a magnet or ornament came out great. It's a thick plexiglass image perfectly cut around the turtle with a black backing.
Happy Fish Friday! Mike is in the studio today cranking out Fish with Attitude like a madman! He has all these amazing fish ready to paint so stay tuned, the gallery shop is about to get some fresh fish.
Looks like we have some Stingrays, turtles, starfish and LOTS of fish.
Ahhh...it's that time of year when the weather turns cold and you need to choose that special calendar. This one sports the quirky art of Mike Quinn, you get 12 months of watercolor artwork featuring his famous Fish with Attitude collection. This item is printed and shipped from Zazzle.com
Mike has a large assortment of goods listed including stamps, cards, mugs, prints and even fish studded shower curtains! Check out the store's home page Here.
I know what your thinking...where have these been your whole life?! It's OK you can get them this year and decorate your fishy Christmas tree in style. Each ornament features a fish from one of Mike Quinn's Fish with Attitude Collection. The bright colors and toothy smiles will look great on your tree...assuming you like fabulously fun ornaments. His print products are made and shipped from Zazzle.com, his entire store can be found Here...but all his Holiday Items are neatly located in their own section! That's right...there are also tree skirts, stockings and Lots of ornament options!
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