When a hurricane comes a shore

 It has been about a month since I have posted on Leo Lakes, why? Well, It has a lot to do with Hurricane Ian that hit Florida. We have a small place in Englewood Florida and it was damaged. Luckily, we didn't have catastrophic damage, but the park that we are in took some pretty high winds. The hurricane passed right over, with winds over 110 mph. 

We have been down, repairing the damage, cleaning up and helping others. Here is a few photos that I took that shows the extent of the damage.

Interestingly, we had a piece of metal come thur the wall of our place. it knocked a clock off the wall and the batteries fell out. The time was 4:26 pm. 

It is a sad situation because some folks live there full time and completely lost their home. I can't imagine the distruction in Ft Mryers, Sanibel Island etc...

Paddle over to my website, LeoLakes.com. I paint beautiful lake, river and bay decor maps. Also, I do custom maps... Frame your happy place!

Folks are discovering that these decor maps are wonderfully unique gifts that become family heirlooms. I call my maps, treasured maps because most folks have that special body of water that they treasure. My treasured maps make a great gift for the fisherman, lake lover, or Lake house. LeoLakes.com

Lake Blackshear Map

 Beautiful Lake Blackshear

Folks are drawn to a Leo Lakes Treasured Map of Lake Blackshear like a crackling fire on a cold winter night...

I often get comments about the jumping fish in the waters of all my maps. Folks love to tell me about stories about fishing and love the jumping fish that I show on my maps. Also, they say the children really enjoy hunting for the tiny mermaid and are thrilled when they spot her in the waters. Oh yeah, some folks tell me that mermaid and fish move, but I'm not sure that I believe that. However, if you look closely, you may find her and the fish jumping around.  Paddle over to my website, I do beautiful Lake House Decor Maps... LeoLakes.com.

I add the local waterfowl and it almost looks like they are actually flying over the waters. Some folks add the location of their lake house or the place that they caught a trophy fish,

I've been doing lake, river and bay maps for approximately 11 years. Over the years, I have experimented with different elements of map art in order to provide the best and most unique map on the market. Folks will be drawn to the map like a crackling fire on a cold winter night.  I try very hard to make my maps special by adding interest to the maps. LeoLakes.com

Also, each framed map or map over 16x32, comes with a certificate of authenticity, lake poem, and interesting facts abut the map. 

I have hundreds of maps on my website that can be purchased right from the site, or I can do custom and personalized vintage style lake maps, too. Lake maps will add beauty to your Lake House Decor! Make a great lake gift. Find out more interesting facts about my treasured maps by going to LeoLakes.com. 

Creative Lake Decor Ideas

Why not a beautiful canvas decor map of the lake that you love!  You are sure to enjoy a nice map of the lake or river where you have a lake house, A star can even be added to show the location.  

My maps make great gifts and will bring back memories of those trips to that favorite lake. Don't forget to look for the hidden mermaid in the lake waters and other interesting things......

Check-out these other comments from our customers.

The map arrived right on time and it was a sensational hit.  Thanks so much, this was exactly what I was looking for and was even better than anticipated. Nate

I just received the map, it looks beautiful! Thank you for helping me put together such a spectacular gift and I will definitely keep you in mind for future gift ideas. Have a wonderful Sunday!

Arrived safe and sound this afternoon and looks great!  I can't wait to give it to my parents for xmas for their new lake house.  Thank you!

I must be doing something right! I'm finally getting my ten minutes of fame, sort of. Interestingly, I got a call from, now get this.......a major studio in California. They are filming a new tv series for mid-season. They want to use one of my big lake maps as a prop in the series. It won't come out for a few months, but I'm hoping that it will be prominently displayed in the series. I will have more news about this later...... 

Paddle over to website to see my Lake, River, and Bay Maps. I have hundreds of maps on my website that can be purchased right from the site, or I can do custom and personalizes vintage style lake maps, too. Lake maps will add beauty to your Lake House Decor! Find out more interesting facts about my treasured maps by going to LeoLakes.com. 

Follow your Dreams......in 2018

A few years ago, I got to follow my dream, a dream of having my own studio and creating the art that I love. After some wandering around on exactly what I wanted to produce, then putting all my creative and artistic ability in to it, I can now say that I have found it, "producing creative decor maps of places that folks love." I think this email below, from one of my customers pretty much sums it up, I have found my calling!" 

I received my custom, Hammock Lake decor map yesterday and was like a kid opening it on Christmas Day.  I could not wait to see it, and it definitely did not disappoint! It it stunning!!  Thank you so much for working with me to create this amazing focal point of my home. Your work is gorgeous and is just what I had been looking for!! I absolutely love the barn wood frame!! Thank you also for your promptness on answering your emails and for the super quick delivery.  Your business is more than 5 star and is so much appreciated!!! Thank you again and have a GREAT 2018!!

Have a very "Happy New Year" and remember "Life is short, get away from the big screen and get on a big stream."

Lake Map Movie Star

A few months ago, I got a call from a TV Studio. They wanted to use one of my maps as a prop in an new TV series. The series was planned to premier in February. They were interested in my Lake Conroe map and by the way, beautiful Lake Conroe is located in the great state of Texas. I shipped the map a few months ago and have been waiting for February to arrive. All this time I have been wondering how will they use the map, will it be displayed in an office, behind a desk of the main character? Will it be prominently displayed in every show or only be a quick flash during one show? 

Guess what, I will find out tomorrow, February 2nd starting at 9:00 PM Central Time. The show will be on CBS. Oh, I forgot to tell you the name of the show. The show is called "Training Day" and it's a cop show that sounds like it will have an interesting plot. Be watching and see if you can find my map. I'm planning on playing the drinking game while watching the show. You know this game, you take a drink every time you see a specific object or hear a specific word. Soooo, when I see my Lake Conroe Map, I will take a drink. If I wake in the morning and have a headache, then I will know that my map was a success....  

Checkout my maps, makes the best valentines gift for the fisherman, lake house, or lake lover......LeoLakes.com

Lake Lovers Gift....

I recieved this comment a few days ago from a customer who just recieved one of may maps. I actually get quite a few nice emails from customers. It certainly makes you feel good to get nice comments from your customers. For me, it reinforces that feeling of accomplishment and that I am on the right path!

Check-out my website, www.Leolakes.com to see if we have your map. We have many popular lake maps such as the Lake Winnipesaukee, Great Sacandaga Lake, Lewis Smith Lake, Pickwick Lake, Greer's Ferry Lake, Lake Sidney Lanier, Lake Sinclair, Table Rock Lake, and Lake Wallenpaupack. Also, we paint custom maps and have personalized maps for that special someone. Leo Lakes Treasured maps, makes a great Christmas Gift the lake house, boater, fisherman, and lake lover.

Leo Lakes Tresured Lake Decor Maps

I recieved this comment a few days ago from a customer who just recieved one of may maps. I actually get quite a few nice emails from customers. It certainly makes you feel good to get nice comments from your customers. For me, it reinforces that feeling of accomplishment and that I am on the right path!

Check-out my website, www.Leolakes.com to see if we have your map. We have many popular lake maps such as the Lake Winnipesaukee, Great Sacandaga Lake, Lewis Smith Lake, Pickwick Lake, Greer's Ferry Lake, Lake Sidney Lanier, Lake Sinclair, Table Rock Lake, and Lake Wallenpaupack. Also, we paint custom maps and have personalized maps for that special someone. Leo Lakes Treasured maps, makes a great Christmas Gift the lake house, boater, fisherman, and lake lover.

Leo Lakes Studio Dog!

In the studio, I have a stuffed dog that I call Lucy that is in honor of my beloved childhood dog. Lucy was a mix breed and loved the water. Whenever we traveled to a river, lake or bay, you could bet that Lucy was in the water. 

Paddle over to my website, LEOLAKES.com. I paint beautiful lake, river and bay decor maps. Folks are discovering that these decor maps are wonderfully unique gifts that become family heirlooms. Oh yeah, I hide things in the lake waters, such as a tiny mermaid/fish. Folks love to search for them. I call my maps, treasured maps because most folks have that special body of water that they treasure. My treasured maps make a great Christmas gifts for the fisherman, lake lover, or Lake house. 

As you can see, my maps make a great gift.  Orders are picking up during the holiday's, so order soon. Click here www.LeoLakes.com for more information.

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

Leo Maps & Old Field Studio Anniversary

Back in October 2007, I started Old Field Studio. In the beginning, Old Field Studio was focused only on wildlife art. I painted in acrylics on Masonite Art Board. My art had a blurred background, which was done with an airbrush.

The foreground, which was mostly waterfowl, was painted very crisp. This effect gave the picture an almost 3-D look. In fact, a lot of folks thought my art was a photograph. The top of this blog has one of my images showing a great blue heron which was cropped from this picture below.

Folks enjoyed my wildlife art, but I discovered that the market was over saturated with wildlife art, even though I did okay with it. During this time, I wanted a decor map of a river that I grew up on as a kid. After some research, I found that nice decor maps of waterways didn’t exist. There were navigation, road, and topography maps, but not a really nice, vintage style lake, river or bay map that would look great hanging in a home or office.


Luckily, with my artistic talent and creativity, I decided to paint my own map of that treasured river. I experimented with different colors and styles to finally settle on a vintage style that gave the painting a golden look. I added a few symbols such as the ruby meridian, wildlife and vintage plane.  


Once completed, I found that others liked the map so much that they asked for copies. This gave me the idea to paint additional rivers, lakes and bays for others to treasure their favorite waters. After a year and a half of experimenting, Leo Lakes Treasured Maps was born, which is part of Old Field Studio. It's hard to believe that its been eight years and I'm still in business. That's pretty much the story of Old Field Studio in a nutshell.

Check-out my website LeoLakes.com