On a big stream!

I've been in Florida for the past week enjoying the sunshine and fishing. Here's an interesting story that occurred while on the water. In this picture, Pop, my father-in-law, is cleaning fish when a rowdy pelican steals a fish. Pop chases the pelican with his fillet knife. The pelican, in fear for its life, drops the fish and if you look closely, you can see the dropped fish on the deck. Also, check the crowd of pelicans gathered around. 

Moral of the story, don' steal from Pop! Also, no pelicans were harmed in the making of this story. If you are in need of a beautiful vintage style map of your favorite lakes, rivers, and bays check-out my web site LeoLakes.com.

Find the hidden mermaid. Click Below!

Lake Champlain Treasured Map

Here's a beautiful map of Lake Champlain that I did for a customer in Vermont. This decor map is large, 6ft-4in. x 3ft-2in. and is gallery wrapped. The map is from a watercolor painting and is printed on canvas with archival inks. After printing, I come back and hand paint areas of the map to high light them, such as the birds etc...

Interestingly, I hide things in the waters. Folks love to search the waters looking for the hidden items. They are tiny, but they certainly make this map a conversational piece. 

One of the neat things that make my maps special, is that you can tell what time of day it is on the map. As shown, If the shadow is on the west side of the birds, then the sun is rising. If the shadow is on the east side of the birds, then the sun is setting.  

I use waterfowl that are common for the lake area, such as Canadian Geese, Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle etc... These three Canadian Geese appear to float over the map.  

I try to name important area's on the lake, especially the islands, points, rivers etc... I added this sail boat to the picture because I thought it would make an interesting photo. Check the colors out of the lake. 

This map is gallery wrapped and the sides are 1-1/2 inches thick. The map actually wraps around the sides of the frame. You will find no road names, county, or state lines on my maps. I have found that folks enjoy traveling the roads with their eyes, while trying to get their bearing. I call this the "Leo Lakes gaze."

I added my dog to the front of the Lake Champlain Map. It may look real, but this is not a real dog, it's stuffed. When I was a child, I had a dog named Lucy that went on all of our adventures to the Lakes and Rivers. I keep this stuffed dog, also named Lucy, in my studio to remember all the fun we had. If you would love a great map or you know someone who lovers a lake, river or bay, then a treasured map from Leo Maps would make a great gift! Check-out my website below and remember: "Life is short, get away from the big screen and get on a big stream."
  

On Beautiful Lemon Bay, Drinking Lemonade!

As you can see, Pop (my father-in-law) has an audience while cleaning fish. These birds act like they are waiting to enter a five star restaurant, called "Pop's Filet," right before it opens. Anyway, Pop has been fishing down in Florida near Manasota Key on Lemon Bay. Lucky for him, he has missed the cold hard winter and has been enjoying the 70's while we suffered in the teens. 

What was the catch of the day, Sheep's head, six to be exact. Okay, they don't look like a sheep's head, but if you look at their teeth, then you would think they have sheep teeth. That's why they are called sheep's head. They are great tasting fish, however even with the size of these shown, the meat will only be the size of  two chicken strips after they are filleted.  
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Check-out that knife that's in Pop's hand. I'm not sure if he is ready to clean fish or have a knife fight with a Great Blue Heron over his catch. Here's the good news, next week I will be "fishing on Lemon Bay, drinking lemonade" and hopefully catching a few fish. Wish me luck and I will post a few pictures during the trip on the blog. Oh yeah, here's one of my vintage styled maps of Lemon Bay that I personalized and gave to Pop as a gift. That's him in the photos. See more of my maps at LeoMaps.com

"Life is short, get away from the big screen and get on a big stream, or at least put one on the wall!"

How to control a fishing disorder!

My wife and I made a TERRIBLE mistake about a year ago and I generated this fishing disorder cartoon from that story.

You see, a year ago, my wife and I made a TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE MISTAKE. We were at Costco and we mistakenly purchased, on sale, 900 miles of SINGLE PLY toilet paper. We are so cheap we suffered through this awful error. I am now happy to say, we are officially out of toilet paper and have Charmin in the house. "We are back to happy crapping". You know, I was thinking, did I share too much information. Anyway, checkout my vintage style lake, river and bay decor maps at LeoLakes.com

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

Vintage Style Maps

Not long ago, I came across this cool looking vintage style outboard motor lamp. I could not resist it, so I purchased it and placed it in my studio. The motor appears to be styled after the old 1960s Evinrude Outboard Motors. Along with the lamp, I added one of my vintage style maps of Old Hickory Lake with a small sail boat. I think it makes for a nice looking decor piece. 

Actually, I have two old outboard motors that my dad owned, one is a Wizard and the other is an Evinrude much like the motor above. I have been working on how to incorporate them into the studio. Hopefully in the future, I will have completed this project and have pictures. A beautiful vintage style lake or bay map will look great in your lake house or give as a gift, checkout my website at LeoLakes.com

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