St Augustine

My wife and I visited St Augustine Fl. a few weeks ago. On one early morning, we got up and walked the beach. I took my camera because the early morning can provide for some great photos. As you look through these photos, wander around in them and see if there's a story? They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

Yes, there is a story. I talked to this guy for a while and he's a veteran and fishes most mornings on the beach. I don't know the complete story, but I salute all veterans for their service to this country.


Here's a great Christmas Gift for the lake house owner, lake lover, or fisherman. I have over two hundred vintage style lake maps on my website that can be purchased right from the site, or I can do custom and personalizes lake, river or bay maps, too. Oh yeah, I hide a tiny mermaid in the waters of all my maps that folks love to search for. Find out more interesting facts about my lake treasured maps by going to LeoMaps.com. 

Remember: Life is short, get away from the big screen and get on a big stream!

Custom Maps

A lot of folks love the lake that they live on or near. In fact, some folks love their lake, river, or bay as much as a family pet. Here's a great little poem that my wife came up with that I use with some of my vintage style maps.  

I often do custom maps of lakes that are small and that only a few folks live on. One such lake is Glen Lake which is located in New York. I added the above poem around the perimeter for a nice touch.

Some customers frame their print in a barnwood style frame which works well with my vintage style maps. I normally have a few different types of frames in the studio. I show only one style on the website, but most of the time, I have barnwood and a premium mahogany frames. Checkout my website if you are interested in a lake, river, and bay vintage style map of your favorite body of water. If we don't have your lake, we can do a custom map of your treasured paradise. Also, I can do other maps for folks too, such as decor maps of land, farms, ranches and genealogy.  Tour my website:  Leolakes.com

   Life is short, get away from the big screen and get on a big stream!

A Carp Cartoon!

Here's one of my new cartoons, a carpy life. Hope you enjoy! 

Remember: If you can't get away from the big screen to a big stream, then put one on the wall! LeoMaps.com

Studio News

Here's a little personal news that I'm proud of. My daughter Sarah, is the Valedictorian for her High School. This is proof that kids can still grow up in the woods and be first in their class. She has worked very hard and reached her goal. I'm not sure where she will be going to college, but she will likely study the sciences. 

Congratulations Sarah! 

What's in your river, lake, bay or woods? Get out and find out!

Leo Lakes website

Finally, after about three weeks of work the www.LeoLakes.com decor maps website has been moved to a new hosting. That new host is Go Daddy and so far they are great! The new website has been up-dated and many new features have been incorporated. I think the site looks a little more professional. Please check it out, www.LeoLake.com and if you ever need to frame your favorite lake, river or bay, we have your map!

Hopefully, I will have more time to post on this blog instead of working on a website! Remember, Life is short, get away from the big screen and get on a big stream or at least put one on the wall!

Custom vintage style Lake, River and Bay maps

Below is a personalized, vintage style map of beautiful Greers Ferry Lake that I completed for a customer a few weeks ago. I used my watercolor  painting of Greers Ferry and added the customers memories (photos) to the map. This map was a gift for someone special that had fond memories of Greers Ferry Lake. The photos added a nice touch that turned a beautiful vintage style map into a wonderful family heirloom and a treasured map.

The customer emailed me color photos, in which I converted to black and white to give them that vintage look. I carefully positioned the photos around the map for the best view. Also, I hide a tiny mermaid in the waters.

Here's a letter from one of my customers:

"I was finally able to give my husband the map I bought for his birthday last night. I want you to know how beautiful it was and how touched he was by it. He loves this Lake. His family has a home there and when we are lucky we get away for a few days, it’s the only place we want to be. He actually had tears in his eyes. Thank you for the beautiful art work."

As you can see, my maps make a great gift. To see more of my work click here www.LeoLakes.com. Remember: Life is short, get away from the big screen and get on a big stream.

 

Reelfoot Lake Decor Map

In the last post, I posted a picture of a beautiful, naturally made lake. That lake was Reelfoot Lake, which is located in the northwest corner of Tennessee. This lake was formed in the early 1800s by a massive earthquake. The Mississippi River actually flowed backwards into this area for several hours to form the lake.

I took this picture of the lake. Interestingly, there are four creatures in the picture, can you spot all four? Click on the picture to enlarge. I call this my animal dyslexia picture because if you can't find all four, then you may have animal dyslexia and need to spent more time at a river, lake or bay.

Two weeks ago, I was in Samburg, in fact the photo above was taken near Samburg. I did a painting of Reelfoot Lake that came out great.

I paint river, lake, and bay decor maps and hide things in the waters. I don't hide snapping turtles, but I do hide a tiny mermaid/fish in the waters of all my lake map paintings that folks love to search for. I call my maps treasured maps because most folks have that special body of water that they treasure. These maps make great gifts for the lake house owner, lake lover, or fisherman. I have over two hundred on my website that can be purchased right from the site, or I can do custom and personalizes lake, river or bay maps, too. If you would like to see more and read about my treasured maps go to LeoMaps.com. 

Remember, get away from the big screen and get on a big stream, in order to avoid animal dyslexia. Hope you enjoyed.

leolakes.com

Santa Rosa Sound

I just finished this painting of beautiful Santa Rosa Island and Santa Rosa Sound. I remember the family vacation to this area when I was just a kid. We actually camped at Fort Pickens State Park. While there I exploded the island, which was very exciting to me because it was my first time to the sea. One time, I came upon a very large ant hill and saw many ant going in and out. I sensed that I should not disturb them. Lucky for me, I now believe they were fire ants.  

Any way, I have fond memories of Santa Rosa Island, so I painted this decor map of the area. Checkout my website at www.leolakes.com for more beautiful river, lake and bay art. Great for the beach house or gifts. Many sizes to choose from and comes on canvas.

You know what, it feels great to know that you have created something that folks love and enjoy. I realize that the folks receiving my maps, treasure their special lake, river or bay, just as I do my favorite place. I put a lot of care into each decor map, whether it's a custom, personalized or a map that I have already painted. One of my favorite things is reading comments from folks who have purchased one of my decor maps. So, I thought I would publish a few in this blog post.

Larry, Yough print arrived safely yesterday! It's beautiful, can't wait to give it to my husband for his birthday! Found the fish & Mermaid, great conversation piece! Thanks for all your help; I'll definitely recommend your website!

Hi Larry, It just arrived. It's beautiful and we love it.

Thank you Larry - Monday is her birthday. It’s so perfect! Take care.

Larry, got it, looks great. It’s going up to lake house.

Hi Larry, received my map yesterday. Love it and have found the fish and mermaid. Thank you again.

Leo, I am so glad I bought it! It's so much more than I imagined. It's really beautiful and I know they are going to love it. So.... Thank you so much and I'm sure you will be sending me or someone I know another map again!

Hi Larry, letting you know the map arrived. Thank you! It's very special and we are going to enjoy it so much.

Larry, thank you for your help. We love the map; it turned out exactly as we had hoped it would. It's off to the framers and we can't wait to get it up on the wall. I'll be sure to recommend your services in the future.

If you would like to learn more, visit my website www.LeoLakes.com .

Norfork Lake Map Painting

Just finished a large print of beautiful Norfork Lake, which is located in Arkansas on the North Fork River. I always add waterfowl flying over with shadows, which makes it appear 3-D. Also, on canvas printed maps, I touch up the waterfowl and others areas with paint to bring out the image.

Normally, I add a vintage plane flying over and if you look close you may see a mermaid or fish in the waters.

Here's the end result. This is the traditional style map and I also do a more creative style. It's difficult to show the detail and color on the internet. I try to have the golden colors come through like a crackling fire. Can you feel the warmth?

I hid a tiny mermaid/fish in the waters and folks love to search for her. I call my maps treasured maps because most folks have that special body of water that they treasure, like Norfork Lake. These maps make great gifts for the lake house owner, lake lover, or fisherman. I have over two hundred on my website that can be purchased right from the site, or I can do custom and personalizes lake, river or bay maps, too. If you would like to see more and read about my treasured maps go to LeoLakes.com. 

Fishing in the gulf!

Just got back from spring break to Florida. While walking on the beach near Lemon Bay Florida, I took a photo of this fisherman catching a fish in the Gulf of Mexico.

On the gulf side of the bay lots of folks swim and a few fish. What kind of fish is on the other end of the line?

Hmmm...A black tip shark. I looked up the black tip to see what I could learn. They grow to about 9ft long and are common in the gulf. Interestingly, 16% of all shark bites are by the black tip, but there has been only one death. Still, I'm glad I wasn't swimming in the gulf today.

Looks like the shark is about two & half feet long.

If you look carefully, I think the black tip is smiling! Later I will post the fish that we caught while on spring break.

"Life is short, get away from the big screen and get on a big stream."