Santa Rosa Island Art

I just finished this painting of beautiful Santa Rosa Island and Santa Rosa Sound. I remember the family vacation to this area when I was just a kid. We actually camped at Fort Pickens State Park. While there I exploded the island, which was very exciting to me because it was my first time to the sea. One time, I came upon a very large ant hill and saw many ant going in and out. I sensed that I should not disturb them. Lucky for me, I now believe they were fire ants.

Any way, I have fond memories of Santa Rosa Island, so I painted this decor map of the area. If you look closely, you may see a mermaid near Gulf Breeze. I like to hide things in the water of my paintings. Checkout my website at www.leolakes.com for more beautiful river, lake and bay art. Great for the beach house or gifts. Many sizes to choose from and comes on canvas.

When fish aren't biting!

Ever wonder where fish go when they're not biting? Well, here's Buttermilk fishing hard and the fish are right under his nose!

Harley Rider ?

Here's the ugliest Harley Rider you will ever see! 

Not really, I came upon a fuzzy headed owl sitting low in some green clover. He appears to be a young Barred Owl (Fuzzy Head) probably just a week out of the nest. I could see that Fuzzy Head wasn't munching on clover; he was just exploring his new world. If you look closely below, you will see one of the parents near, sitting on a fence post in the background. Fuzzy Head's parents keep a close eye on him and continue to feed him.

In fact, young Barred Owls may remain near their parents for up to 6 months. When Fuzzy Head grows up.

Fuzzy Head was probably born in the nearby tree with up to three brothers or sisters. A few days ago, I did notice that two Owls were in the clover near the tree but didn't have my camera so I moved on. Now I wonder what may have happened to the other young Owl. Their only predator, other than man, is the Great Horned Owl and I have seen several in the area.

After a while, Fuzzy Head must have gotten nervous with me being near. He leaped to his feet and flew back to safety.

It was obvious that Fuzzy Head hasn't been flying very long because he looks awkward in flight.

When he landed he quickly swiveled that Fuzzy Head around to peer back at me with those coal black eyes.

Life is short, find out what's in your Lakes, River, Bay, or Woods 

 

Irrational fishing !

Here's another one of my brilliant fish cartoons. You may like it or not, but it is irrational.

Now you know....... why fish are irrational and remember, get away from the big screen and get on a big stream.

Custom and personalized lake maps

You know what, it feels great to know that you have created something that folks love and enjoy. I realize that the folks receiving my maps, treasure their special lake, river or bay, just as I do my favorite place. I put a lot of care into each decor map, whether it's a custom, personalized or a lake map that I have already painted. One of my favorite things is reading comments from folks who have purchased one of my decor maps. So, I thought I would publish a few in this blog post.

Larry, Yough print arrived safely yesterday! It's beautiful, can't wait to give it to my husband for his birthday! Found the fish & Mermaid, great conversation piece! Thanks for all your help; I'll definitely recommend your website!

Hi Larry, It just arrived. It's beautiful and we love it.

Thank you Larry - Monday is her birthday. It’s so perfect! Take care.

Larry, got it, looks great. It’s going up to lake house.

Hi Larry, received my map yesterday. Love it and have found the fish and mermaid. Thank you again.

Leo, I am so glad I bought it! It's so much more than I imagined. It's really beautiful and I know they are going to love it. So.... Thank you so much and I'm sure you will be sending me or someone I know another map again!

Hi Larry, letting you know the map arrived. Thank you! It's very special and we are going to enjoy it so much.

Larry, thank you for your help. We love the map; it turned out exactly as we had hoped it would. It's off to the framers and we can't wait to get it up on the wall. I'll be sure to recommend your services in the future.

 If you would like to learn more, visit my website www.LeoLakes.com .

When a cat chases a mouse, bad things happen?

It's unbelievable what's happened in the Old Field Studio, recently. It all started when I was working on a lake map. I was about to print the map when I noticed scratches on the flat screen monitor that I use. I thought, I have never noticed these before, wait a minute; there are multiple scratches across the screen. Where did these come from?

A closer inspection indicates that they are fairly deep and appear to be claw marks. I had only two questions: how did they get there and who was responsible. If you look closely below, you can see them.

I immediately had a suspect in mind, "Stormy" our rescue cat. The big mystery was why would Stormy just arbitrarily scratch my computer screen? Well, the answer to that question is very simple, take a look at my screen saver.

Here's what I think happened. My computer will go into sleep mode when it's not being used, but will wake-up and the screener saver will come on if the mouse is moved. Old Stormy likes to roam around the studio alone and hunt for whatever. Stormy must have played with the computer mouse and the screen saver came on with the three owls. Stormy, thinking he had hit the owl jackpot took a few swipes at the owls. Boom, that's how I got scratches on my computer screen. Oh yeah, Stormy has been banned from the studio!

Here you can see a picture of Old Stormy on his cat perch "none too happy!" Folks the moral of the story is to keep your cat away from your mouse. Yes, that is one of my decor maps. I was going to put this picture on my the LeoLakes web site, but may not due to Stormy being in the picture. Oh well, Check'm out at www.LeoLakes.com they make a great gift.

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

 

Bad Trout

Ok, here's one of my cartoons that I do in my spare time. I must have been watching a mafia movie when I deamed this one up. Enjoy!

Santa Rosa Island Map

I just finished a painting of Santa Rosa Island located on the Florida panhandle. I've been to this area many times, fishing, vacationing and exploring. The white beaches are as white as sugar and the water is beautiful.

My father was stationed at Egin Air Force Base during WWII. When I young, we went on an adventure to Santa Rosa Island and the surrounding area. It was one of those childhood trips that I will always remember. Anyway, this decor map is of the east end of the island. I will post a map of the west end of the island at a later date with more about the adventure. See more of my decor maps at  www.LeoLakes.com makes a great gift from 10x20 to over 4f tx 8ft.