Leo Lakes Treasured Maps Anniversary

Back in October 2007, I started OldField Studio, I can't believe that I have been in business for ten years. In the beginning, OldField 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. This gave the picture a 3-D look.

Folks enjoyed my wildlife art, but I discovered that the market was oversaturated 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 ten years and I'm still in business. That's pretty much the story of Old Field Studio and LeoLakes in a nutshell.

Here's a photo of my studio.......

Hey, my maps make great Christmas gifts for the fisherman, lake lover, or Lake house owner. 

Orders are picking up during the holiday's, so order soon. Click here www.LeoLakes.com for more information.

Custom Lake, River and Bay maps for the lake house.

I totally enjoy doing maps. I did this custom map a few weeks ago of a lake in Maine for a couple who have a new cabin located on the lake. Unfortunately, I will never get to see most of the lakes that I paint. However, while painting this lake, I visualized what I think the lake looks like, water as smooth as glass, old pickup trucks, dogs, smoky chimneys, and the honk of geese flying over. The more that I think about it, when I paint a lake, river and bay, I see my own fond memories reflected in the map. 

I been doing maps for seven years, I have painted a lot of maps, talked to a lot of customers, and the things that I have found, folks love their lake and are building fond memories. Here's an email comment that a customer sent me after she recieved her custom maps.

Customer Comment

"Larry, thank you so much! We love our beautiful map!!!!!! It is an amazing piece for our new cabin in Maine. My husband found the mermaid, I have not yet. He loves mermaids. Thanks again, Keep up the good work. We might be ordering another from you for Richmond Creek in Peconic NY, where we live now." 

I take a lot of care painting my maps and have put a great deal of thought into their design. You will find much waterfowl around the lake such as eagles, osprey, cranes, and my favorite, the great blue heron. Also, I added a couple of fish, jumping around to add some interesting detail. In fact, I always hide a tiny mermaid to the waters of all my lake map paintings that folks love to search for. 

If you would like to see more and read about my treasured maps go to LeoLakes.com. 

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

Welcome to my studio

Beautiful Custom Lake Map

I just finished this custom map of Lake Fork located in Texas. This is the first time that I have added a small great blue heron to one of my maps. I painted this heron a few years ago and it adds a nice touch. I have enlarged it on the left for better viewing. This is a large map 38.5" x 35". The customer wanted the colors to be more on the muted side in order to fit into their existing decor. I've hidden a tiny mermaid in the waters along with a few fish.   

Check-out 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 LeoMaps.com.