Big Bear Lake Decor Map

Here's another nice email from one of my customers. Big Bear Lake is a beautiful lake located in California. 

"Hello Larry! We received the print yesterday as promised!!  It is fantastic!!  Quality is beautiful and my daughters had a blast trying to find the mermaid!  They wanted more things to find so you left them wanting more!  :)  Can't wait to give it to my parents this weekend, I know they will love it as much as I do!!  You've been an incredible, helpful, responsive seller and I've enjoyed doing business with you!  Such a pleasure to have a totally positive buying experience on line.  Take care and have a great weekend! "

The Big Bear Lake map is painted in vintage style. I add waterfowl common to the lake flying over to give the map interest. As mentioned above, I add a tiny little mermaid for folks to search for.

This close up section gives you an idea of the detail that I include. I have many folks who purchase my maps for birthday, fathers day, Christmas, lake house warming, and wedding gifts.

All maps 16x32 size and above, come with a Certificate of Authenticity, a poem, and a sheet covering interesting facts about your LeoLakes Decor Map. 

To see if we have your lake, river, or bay, check-out my website LeoLakes.com. Enjoy

Lake Maps Dawings

It's true, pencil and paper have now become obsolete. Here's my new 24HD Cintiq graphic monitor. I can draw directly on the screen and it's great for photo retouch, cartoons, and my custom maps. A little pricey, but worth it. It's almost the same as using an actual pencil and paper, which is now becoming old school. Technology is good, but I still enjoy a good old pencil and piece of fresh paper, sometimes!

Check-out my maps at LeoLake.com. 

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

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."
  

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.