Decor map of Apalachicola bay

I’ve painted a new map for my collection of decor maps, St George Island and Apalachicola Bay. This beautiful area is located on the panhandle of Florida. Apalachicola Bay is known for its oysters and its name comes from the Indians that once lived in the area. St George Island is a small peaceful and relaxing island with many beautiful beach homes. Click on the map to enlarge.

I like to hide a few things in the waters of my maps. If you look very closely you may find a mermaid, fish, dolphins and maybe a shark swimming around.
Here’s a great bay poem for Apalachicola Bay.

“As I wake each day and look through the sun’s rays, the most amazing scenes appear in this bay, as the sun arises just above the shore, I feel the grace and beauty of this place that I adore.” LKO 2011

If you like my Decor Maps, see more at www.leolakes.com.

"Get away from the big screen and get on a big stream."

Lemon Bay Fishing

Over spring break I was able to get away from the big screen and get out on a big stream! Here's a picture of beautiful Lemon Bay Florida. Interestingly while fishing, we were checked by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Enforcement personnel. Earlier, I had purchased my 3 day saltwater fishing licenses which came in handy during this check. All went well, and I got to ask the game warden a few questions. I asked, how many folks that you check, don't have their fishing licenses? I was surprised by the answer! The warden said 50% do not have licenses. Now that seems very high to me, but I suppose there's a lot of out of state folks that just start fishing in hopes they don't get caught. Anyway the warden said the fine for not having them was over a 100 bucks.

During the boat ride we came across five dolphins in the bay. It appeared they were chasing bait fish. This was a good sign because the red tide had been present a few weeks earlier and killed a lot of fish.

We fished around bridge piers and boat docks in hopes of catching sleep head. Our bait was live shrimp which we had purchased earlier, 3 dozen for $12.00.

Here's the result of about four hours of fishing. We actual caught 8-10 fish, but only 4 were keepers.

Yum, sleep head is a great tasting fish.

Pop has an audience while cleaning fish. The neighborhood Pelicans, Herons, and Egrets are always ready for a handout.

Not a bad day fishing! Life is short, get away from the big screen and get on a big stream!

 

Fishing in the gulf!

Just got back from spring break to Florida. While walking on the beach near Lemon Bay Florida, I took a photo of this fisherman catching a fish in the Gulf of Mexico.

On the gulf side of the bay lots of folks swim and a few fish. What kind of fish is on the other end of the line?

Hmmm...A black tip shark. I looked up the black tip to see what I could learn. They grow to about 9ft long and are common in the gulf. Interestingly, 16% of all shark bites are by the black tip, but there has been only one death. Still, I'm glad I wasn't swimming in the gulf today.

Looks like the shark is about two & half feet long.

If you look carefully, I think the black tip is smiling! Later I will post the fish that we caught while on spring break.

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

Lake Custom Maps

I just completed a new custom lake, Cheat Lake. This paintings is printed on canvas and is 16x32. On this size canvas print, I actually hand paint/touch-up the waterfowl and other areas after printing. This really makes the print pop when hanging on the wall. Oh Yeah, there's something in the waters, but more that later. The print shown here is before touch-up.

Cheat Lake is located on the states line between Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The lake is 13 miles long and 1,730 acre. The major tributary is the Cheat River. A good bass and walleye lake.

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. 

Lake Lovers 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

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

See more at www.LeoLakes.com

Personalized Maps

Have you ever wished that you had a decor map of that little lake you live or grew up on. Well maybe not, but there are a few people that really treasure those small lake gems. Here's one such lake, Lake Winnibigoshish. Makes a great gift...

Most folks personalize these lakes by adding photos, poems, cherished locations and special notes, which is the plan for this map. The best part of painting these lakes is personalizing their treasured map. You can feel the love for the lake as they discuss those golden memories and how to display them on the map.

I to have a special lake (actually a river), in fact, that is how I started painting rivers, lakes and bays. If you are a lake lover or need a gift for a lake lover, and want to create a family heirloom, then checkout my website at www.LeoLakes.com

I paint good memories

This great blue heron is probably thinking,"Maybe I should try artificial bait." I painted this back in 2007 and use it for a topper image on another blog.

The original painting has long been sold to a contractor in Alabama to hang in his office. What do you think drew him to this picture? He said "it was the lure. When I was younger, I had a lure just like the one in the painting. I caught many fish with that lure. After seeing it in the painting, good memories flooded back."

I too had a lure like this one when I was a kid, in fact I used it as the model for the painting. I remember catching lots of fish on the Duck River with it. I guess you could say that I paint good memories.

Oh yeah, what do you think I called this painting? I named it "Blue Monday Heron" because if you look closely, you can tell the heron is not having a good day fishing on a cold, windy Monday.

A Musical Lake

What is lake music? Well, there is a lake near Music City (Nashville) that has a long history of lake music. There must be music in the waters because many, many country music stars and song writers live on or near the lake. Stars like Johnny Cash lived on the lake, Taylor Swift lived near the lake while going to high school and this is just to name a few.  The lake didn't create the stars, but it certainly seems to have helped. It must be those foggy mornings with a blue heron flying over and the sun just rising over the water that is a catalyst for great songs and music.  I just finished this beautiful art decor map of Old Hickory Lake the “Music Lake”. 

The lake is actually named after Andrew Jackson “Old Hickory” the 7^th president of the United States, but could have just as well been called the music lake. In fact, I hide a musical note in the waters to emphasis the lake’s music heritage. The lake is printed on canvas from a watercolor painting and the waterfowl is hand painted.

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. 
 

"Life is short, reduce screen time and increase stream time, get on a big stream."