Vintage Style Maps

I talk with a lot folks who have fallen in love with the body of water they live on, grew up on, visit or have family history with. My wife came up with this poem, which puts in words, how folks feel about there special lake, river, or bay.

"As I look over this waterscape, 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

I started out creating a map of a beloved river that I adore. This small beginning has developed into a fun business. I understand how folks feel about there lake, river, or bay and am lucky to create treasured maps for folks that have treasured memories of there special places. Below I wanted to share a few emails that I receive from these water lovers when they receive one of my treasured maps. 

Customer Email 8/1/14: Larry, I am practically speechless.........when my husband opened the carton and that amazingly beautiful map lay inside we were both overcome.  He could not believe that he had received such an amazing gift and I was just beside myself as this had far exceeded my expectations.  I was so very worried that this would be a product that looks really good on line but when you get it, the product is a disappointment.  What we found was an amazing piece that is truly a "treasured map". Thanks again for all your help, but most of all thank you for sharing your talent! 

Customer Email 7/23/14:Hi Larry, Another satisfied customer! The map arrived today (stuck in Nashville for 2 days; go figure). She LOVES it! Opened it while I listened. You included such a wonderful note! That makes it even more special and I appreciate it all the more. We have websites here for the island and for the Lakes Region. I'm planning to tell everyone about my map and give them directions to the website, so be ready! Thanks again for a truly unique product. PS.... Don't be surprised if you hear from my other daughter and son-in-law. They will be green with envy when they see this map! 

Customer Email 7/15/14: Thank you Larry!  Fantastic.....The map is beautiful and I can't wait to hang it in how lake cabin. I will be ordering more for some of my lake friends.

Customer Email 6/13/14: Larry, our map arrived yesterday and we love it!  It is beautiful and we can't wait to frame it and hang it on our wall so all our friends and family can see it.  I would highly recommend you to anyone wanting a lake map for their home too, it is really beautiful and I consider it a piece of artwork too. Thank you so much! 

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 LeoMaps.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.

Wild animal in the house!

This is not about maps, but it's interesting and it happened in our house. What would you do if you had just woke from a night's sleep, rubbed yours eyes and spotted an animal tail around a corner inside your home? 

Well for me, the first thing that entered into my mind was: "Dang kids are playing a trick on me like the time they painted my toe nails purple while I was asleep in the lazy-boy." I didn't figure it out until the next morning when I had taken a shower and was putting on my socks. Imagine the shock of seeing 10 purple toes nails looking back at you and then thinking what the heck was I doing last night.  But this time was different, it's a real creature. I thought, what the heck is that and how did it get in the house? Dang, looks like a Raccoon and we don't have a pet Raccoon. I bet the wife has let it in thinking it was Creamy the cat, which is possible because her night vision is not what it used to be. 

Now what to do, throw shoes at it, call animal control, get the guns? Just call me Davy Crockett because I feel there's a new coonskin cap in the future and then to my surprise....... 

As I turned the corner to get a better look this is what was looking back at me. Kibble our cat. I suppose the reason I was thinking Raccoon, is because before I went to bed, I spotted this outside munching on cat food.

It's a Raccoon stealing cat food outside. Just call me crazy.

Oh yeah, I paint lake, river and bay maps, read what my customers are saying. "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."

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. 
 

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 on the wall.

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!"

Fishstration

A few of my cartoons to brighten this winter weather. Enjoy!

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

Wader Short, Shorts

Hmm.... Wader Shorts?

Another one of my fishing cartoons. Not sure about wader short, shorts?