Lucy, my childhood dog

While growing up, I had a dog named Lucy. Lucy was a white, long haired mutt that had little black spots sprinkled around her coat. We took her on all our fishing trips. She was a great fishing dog and would watch the bobber for hours. When I would get a bite, she would go "berserk", knowing that a fish was soon to be near. This dog loved the water, she would often jump in the water while we were fishing. Then, come out of the water and shake, shake, shake..... water going all over near by fishermen. 

One time, when I was swimming in the river and Lucy was up on the bank watching. I decide to play a little joke on her to see what she may do. I acted as if I was drowning and called for Lucy to save me. You know what, she jumped in and swam to me. I grabbed her collar and she dog paddled back to shore. Amazing, I was saved by Lucy the water dog.........

One of my favorite things to do with her was toss her a biscuit after she had eaten. She would be too full to eat, but would take the biscuit to a spot and drop it, while sniffing around. She would dig a 1-2 inch hole and place the biscuit in the hole. With her nose, she would push the dirt back over the biscuit until it was completely cover. Funny thing, her white nose tuned dirt brown, so you could always tell that she had buried something.    

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 maps. They make great Christmas gifts for the lake lover, lake house, or fisherman. Best lake lover gift ever....

A few of my silly lake cartoons. Enjoy!

Paddle over to my website and take a look at my Lake, River, and Bay Maps. I have hundreds of decor 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 Fish Camp, Lake House or Cabin. The Best lake lover gift of the year.  Find out more interesting facts about my treasured maps by going to LeoLakes.com. 

Northwest California decor map

I did this map for a nice lady in California last year. Little did I know that a dam on this map would be in the news. If you look closely, you will find Lake Oroville, which is in the news due to massive flooding and spillway damage. I hope all the folks down stream remain safe.

If you need a great gift for the lake house, lake lover, or fisherman, check-out my treasured decor maps at LeoLakes.com. Here is a recent comment from one of my customers: 

"Hi Larry, I received the maps yesterday and they are beautiful.  Thank you for shipping them so quickly. I’m sure the folks that I give them to will treasure them. Thanks again, Evelyn"

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.

Live Life Near Waves

It was a hot, mid-summer day near Sims Bridge on the Duck River, I was fishing with my dad.  Kook! Kook! Kook! "Hear that" I said to my dad. "What bird makes that sound?".  "That's a rain crow." said my dad.  "Why is it called a rain crow" I said. "Because they say that when it calls, rain will follow shortly". Well, that was the last question that my ten year old brain had about the rain crow and it was almost fifty years ago. My dad had a great deal of knowledge about this river and our family has a long connection to this water.  In 1937, my father's family moved near the river and has been coming to this same spot for 80 years!

Just last year, on the banks of the Duck, in the same spot, I heard "Kook! Kook! Kook! ".  I had a flashback. I instantly remembered that moment almost fifty years ago setting on the banks of the Duck River. When I arrived home that night, I did some research on the Rain Crow. I found that it is called a Cuckoo and locally it may be called a Rain Crow because it's call is normally on a hot, mid-summer day or before a thunderstorm. It is believed that the clap of thunder will set it to calling. They breed in the Eastern U.S. and winter in South America. Interestingly, they are only one of a few birds that eat hairy caterpillars. The best that I can tell, they live about five years. So, that bird could have been the 10th to 20th grandfather of the original bird fifty years ago. Kook! Kook! Kook.... 

I wanted a map of this beloved river, but found that you couldn't find really nice river maps. So, I created my own map. Here's one of the first test map that I painted back in 2010.
I enjoyed creating the map so much, I turned it into a business. After many tries, I finally perfected my style and created Leo Lakes Treasured Maps. You can find out more about my maps at LeoLakes.com.

Unique Lake house Gifts

What's the best and most unique Lake House gift for Christmas?

If you have a Lake House or know someone that does, then a nice, vintage style map of your beloved lake will look spectacular hanging on the wall. Leo Lakes have many sizes and most lakes can be ordered right from the website with only a few days to deliver. We even paint custom lake maps for that small lake.

On our canvas prints, the waterfowl and other areas of the map are hand painted (touched-up). Also, Leo hides a tiny mermaid in the waters of every lake which makes an ideal conversational piece. See other interesting facts about our maps at www.LeoLakes.com

You can add a star to the location of your Lake House to give that personal touch and even add a label such as "The Johnson's House Est. 2006". Here's one of our customer comments:

"Leo, the Yough Lake print arrived safely yesterday! It’s beautiful, can’t wait to give it to my husband for his birthday! Found the fish and the Mermaid, great conversation piece! Thanks for all your help, I’ll definitely recommend your website! Thanks again"

If it's a gift for the lake house owner, just wait until you see there face when they open a LeoLakes Treasured Decor Map! See more at www.LeoLakes.com

A beautiful Lake House Heirloom

A Beautiful Lake House Heirloom! I just completed this custom map of a lake in Michigan. The customer wanted it framed in barn wood and a star added to locates his home. I think the frame really adds to the vintage style of the map. The customer also requested that the map be oriented in the vertical position, which is requested from time to time.  

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 pick-up during the holiday's, so order soon. Click here www.LeoLakes.com for more information.

Lake Nacimiento is a Dragon Lake?

Can you see the dragon? I can! I did this custom map of Lake Nacimiento, also referred to as the dragon lake. It's located in California near Paso Robies. Interestingly, Nacimiento means "beginning or source" in Spanish, which makes sense.  

I painted this map for a very nice lady who has a cabin on the lake and plans on hanging the map over the fireplace. I received an email from her after the map was delivered and here is what she said. 

"Hi Larry,

We got the map and it is absolutely stunning. I can't wait to hang it over the fireplace!

Thanks again, we are so pleased. It's truly a work of art."

I think that's enough said, check- out my maps...

Summer is coming

Last year, I kayaked fished on a lake near my home. I took this photo of a small cove that I paddled into with my kayak. The water was smooth as glass with a whisk of fog on the surface and mirrored the surrounding lush foliage. This is a reminder that summer is coming.... 

Enjoy the view, I did!

Check- out my maps...

Beautiful Lake Map

Here's a custom lake map that I did for a customer in Minnesota. This paintings is printed on canvas and is 16x32. For a special touch, I actually hand paint/touch-up the waterfowl and other areas after printing. This makes the print pop when hanging on the wall.  The print shown here is before touch-up.

Meadow Lake is located in Minnesota and it's a fairly small lake. I do all size lakes and shapes. This map turned out great and is now hanging in a lake house over looking Meadow Lake. I sometimes place a star at the location of the lake house which folks really enjoy. Also, I have had folks request this poem that my wife dreamed up. I place it around the map or insert it in the map somewhere. I love the poem.

"I Love this lake, The most amazing scenes appear in its wake, The sun arises just above the shore, Giving grace and beauty to this place I adore." LKO

You know, I do hide things in the waters. I 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 LeoLakes.com. 

As you can see, my maps make a great gift. To see more of my work click 

See more at www.LeoLakes.com

Osprey Dive

I was lucky to capture a few photos of this Osprey flying over Lemon Bay in Florida. This guy or gal has all the latest gear and years of experience to catch a fish. Above the water, the Osprey spots a fish, dives down with its talons ready to tag a fish.  

As I watched, the Osprey maneuvered into a full dive. The Osprey hit the water with a big splash. Amazing what an impact! They're really are tough birds.

Out of the water, but an unsuccessful fishing trip. That was a lot of work with out a meal to show for it.

Later in the day, I did capture a photo of the Osprey on a pole with his catch. Amazingly the fish was still flopping around, but the Osprey had him with those sharp talons. This is certainly fresh sushi. 

Paddle over to my website, LEOLAKES.com I do custom and personalizes lake, river and bay maps. Folks are discovering that these decor maps are wonderfully unique gifts that become family heirlooms. Oh yeah, I hide things in the lakes waters, which make the maps even more interesting. I 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. Makes great Christmas gifts for the fisherman, lake lover, or Lake house owner. 

"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

Best gift for the lake lover, lake house, or fisherman!

Here's the best gift for the lake lover, lake house, or fisherman. Give them a beautiful vintage style map of their favorite lake, river or bay. You can even label their favorite location. Also, there's a tiny mermaid in the waters of every map. See if you can find her on the map below.

Visit my website to see more. I have over two hundred lake, river and bay maps on my website that can be purchased right from the site, or I can do custom and personalized lake, river or bay maps, too. If you would like to see more and read about my treasured maps go to LeoMaps.com. 

As you can see, my maps make a great gift. . 

Lake House Cartoons

Occasionally, I draw cartoons for fun. I've just finished a few more bait cartoons, yes bait cartoons. You may ask why bait cartoons? Well, it seems that the fishermen or fish always get the cartoon spotlight, so I decided to be the only person to focus on bait. Think about it, without bait no fishing or fishermen! Also, bait can be fun. Have you ever left your fishing worms in the refrigerator and your wife found them? Me either, because I hide them behind the the big jar of pickles. Also, don't just Bait, BaitRageous! Enjoy, 

Oh yeah, check-out my vintage style maps for the lake house. If you have a special Lake, River or Bay, then paddle over to my website at LeoLakes.com. We also do custom maps and personalized maps.

Remember: " Get away from the big screen and get on a big stream, if not, then at least put on the wall." 

Frame your Favorite, Lake, River, or Bay, LeoLakes.com. 

LeoLakes News

Summer is near! My daughter Sarah, just finished her freshmen year at Sewanee, The University of the South. For the summer, Sarah will be working with me at Old Field Studio. Boy do I have work for her to do, lots of things that I have been putting off. Oh yeah, I've been working on a lake map for the Arkansas Tourism Department, but more about that later. Anyway, Life is short, get away from the big screen and get on a big stream!

Check-out my website at LeoLakes.com. I have many vintage style decor maps of your favorite lake that look great hanging in a lake house, home or office. 

"As I look over this lake, The most amazing scenes appears in its wake, The sun arises just above the shore, Giving grace and beauty to this place that I adore." LKO

How to preserve Lake, river, and bay memories

 I have been lucky to have a couple of lures that my grandfather fished with in the 20s & 30s. Now, my grandfather was not much of a fisherman, but did fish on rare occasion. When I was a kid, the family cleaned out his home after he passed. My father and I found these old Heddon lures in his shop. My father said he remembered these when he was a kid and fished with them on the Duck River. Just think these lures were used during the depression, & WWII.

As you can see, they have seen better days. In fact, someone tried to modify the top lure for some reason. I do wonder what's the story behind this bait, where was it purchased, and what fish were caught. I'm sure if this bait could talk, it would be fascinating.

They are made of wood. The shellac has deteriorated with age and the paint is starting to crack and flake off. The quality of the craftsmanship is excellent. The diving spoon is thick and made from high quality metal, no rust after 80-85 years.

I bet my father or his brother modified this lure when they were young and decided a spinner would be better added to the front. Oh well, I am glad to have these old relics.They are not worth much to anyone else but me. I do want to preserve the story and place them in a better container. So, I decided to print and build an old fashion lure box made of paper.

You just can't tell the story of an old lure unless you know it. That's why I've been working on an old fashion lure box. I think it would be neat to have the story about the lure on the outside of the box. Folks in the future will know a little more about these old lures and the story behind the bait. I've been working on this project for a while, but I'm taking my time in order to make it right. Think how great it would be to get an old prized lure from your grandfather and on the outside of the box, a story about the lure. It would become a prized possession, a family heirloom that would be handed down.  Remember:  "Old fishermen may pass, but their bait lives on!"

I do custom and personalized lake, river, island or bay decor maps. They make a great gift for the lake lover. If you would like to see if we have your body of water, go to LeoLakes.com. 

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

Water Falls on Center Hill Lake!

What is a "Stress Free Environment?" Well, a stress free environment means different things to different folks. To some, a stress free environment may mean the beach, mountains, a round of golf or maybe a spa treatment. Is it a place or a state of mind? Well, a few weeks ago I found a 'Stress Free Environment." I spent a few days on a beautiful lake in Tennessee called Center Hill Lake.  We stayed at Pates Ford Marina which is located on the tail end of the lake and a great place to eat, rent a boat or stay for a night. The waters of Center Hill are some of the clearest lake waters in the state, however a rain the day before causes them to be slightly murky. Actually, this turned out to be a good thing because the water falls were flowing.    

We rented a pontoon boat to cruise the lake looking for any adventure. We had hopes of spotting an Eagle, which have become common around the lake. Also, this lake has many water falls back in the hollows that I would like to take a few pictures of.     

Heading out on a beautiful day, we pass houseboat row. This brings back memories, because several years ago, I had a boat that we used on most weekends. 

To give you an idea of Center Hill Lake check out this map that I did. Look at all of the twists and turns this lake makes and all of the coves. That's because it's located in very hilly terrain.   

You ever heard of the Old Man of the Sea? This is called face on the lake, not. I'm not sure what its called but it sure looks like a face. Checkout those nose hairs. 

One of the many falls that was flowing. I'm guessing that this fall is 40-50 feet high. It seemed that in every cove, there was a fall flowing down from the hills. It was great to move close to the fall and feel the cool mist, and listen to the shower of water against the limestone.

Another water fall that has attracted other boaters. Interestingly, water falls seem to draw folks in close because of their beauty and sound. I think this would be called a "stress free environment".

I paint Lake, River and Bay maps and here's a vintage style map of Center Hill Lake. I call my maps treasured maps because most folks have that special body of water that they treasure. 

I hide a tiny mermaid/fish in the waters of all my lake map paintings that folks love to search for. 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 personalized lake, river or bay maps, too. If you would like to see more and read about my treasured maps go to LeoLakes.com. 
 

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, or at least enjoy one