Lake House Map

Creating a Family Heirloom for the Lake House! I just completed this custom map of a lake in North Carolina. The customer wanted to include family pictures and a star to locate their lake house. Oh yeah, I hide a tiny mermaid in the waters of the lake.

Paddle over to my website, LEOLAKES.com. I paint beautiful lake, river and bay decor maps. Folks are discovering that these decor maps are wonderfully unique gifts that become family heirlooms. Oh yeah, I hide things in the lake waters, such as a tiny mermaid/fish. Folks love to search for them. I call my maps, treasured maps because most folks have that special body of water that they treasure. My treasured maps make a gift for the fisherman, lake lover, or Lake house. 

As you can see, my maps make a great gift.  Orders pick-up during the holiday's, so order soon. Click here www.LeoLakes.com for more information.

Kentucky Lake Pelicans

PELICANS IN KENTUCKY?  A customer sent me a photo of White Pelicans on Kentucky Lake. I was surprised to find that they have been wintering on the lake for the last 10-12 years. LeoLakes.com

This winter, I may make a trip to Kentucky Lake and take a few photos of the pelicans. Oh yeah, check-out my website LeoLakes.com for beautiful Lake, River and Bay maps.

I've decided to add the white pelicans to my Kentucky Lake Map near the dam.

A bit about myself. About eight years ago, I began to paint lakes, rivers and bays maps in order to bring back those "golden lake memories" like the one's during my childhood. 

I call them "Leo Lakes Treasured Maps" and have painted over 200 from 36 states using USGS maps as guides.  LeoLakes.com

They make a truly unique and special gift for the lake house owner, lake lover and fisherman. 

Here's what makes them so Special!

I hide a few fish and even a tiny mermaid in the waters of my lakes. Yes, they're very shy and don't want to be found. Folks just love'm especially the kids. You might even think they move around overtime.

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 call my maps Treasured Maps because every treasure has a Ruby and so do my maps, each have a Red Ruby Meridian.

I add a vintage plane flying over my maps to signify an adventure to your treasured lake, river, or bay.

You will find wildlife in all my maps. These signify the natural beauty of your treasured lake, river or bay. I use wildlife that is common to the subject lake, such as Canadian Geese, Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagles and others.

You can add a star or symbol with a few words to mark that special place, it may be the location of the lake house, the spot where you caught that trophy fish or some grand view. This will make a very special gift for the lake lover. 

Did you know that you can always tell if its morning or evening on a Leo Lakes map? Just look at the shadows cast by the wildlife, is the shadow on the east or west? If it's on the west, then it’s morning time. Oh yeah, I have had folks tell me that they change through the day, but don't believe them.

My WEBSITE: LeoLakes.com

Lake House Map for the lake house

Lake House Map! Think about it, if you have a lake house, what's better than having a beautiful vintage style lake map hanging in the great room! I just finished this beautiful 2'x4' vintage style lake map of Greers Ferry Lake. The colors came out perfect. I'm sure it will look great hanging in the customer's lake house.  

I've been doing lake, river and bay maps for approximately seven years. Over the years, I have experimented with different elements of map art in order to provide the best and most unique map on the market. Folks will be drawn to the map like a crackling fire on a cold winter night.  I try very hard to make my maps special by adding interest to the maps.

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." 
You can add a star or symbol with a few words to mark that special place, it maybe the location of the lake house, the spot where you caught that trophy fish or some grand view. This will make a very special gift for the lake lover. I hide a few fish and even a tiny mermaid in the waters of my lakes. Yep, but they're very shy and don't want to be found. Folks just love'm, especially the kids. You might even think they move around overtime.

Did you know that you can always tell if its morning or evening on a Leo Lakes map? Just look at the shadows cast by the wildlife, is the shadow on the east or west? If it's on the west, then it’s morning time. Oh yeah, I have had folks tell me that they change through the day, but don't believe them.

Also, each framed map or map over 16x32, comes with a certificate of authenticity, lake poem, and interesting facts abut the map.

I have hundreds of maps on my website that can be purchased right from the site, or I can do custom and personalized vintage style lake maps, too. I have maps, such as Greers Ferry Lake Vintage Style map, Lake Logan Martin Vintage Style Map, Center Hill Lake vintage style map, Lake Texoma vintage style map, Gaston Lake, Choctawhatchee Bay vintage style map, Toledo Bend Lake Vintage style map, Raystown Lake vintage style map. Lake maps will add beauty to your Lake House Decor! Find out more interesting facts about my treasured maps by going to LeoLakes.com. 

I came across a White Deer

A few weeks ago, while kayaking on Marrowbone Lake near our home with my daughter, we saw an unusual sight. Sarah saw a flash of white in the woods just above the lake. It was a rare white deer. There's only 1 in 20,000......kind of cool. Here's a few photos. 

We were in our kayaks about 50 yards away. The deer wasn't bothered by us and was grazing in the woods.  

Amazingly, you can see how the white deer sticks out in the middle of the green foliage. I'm sure that they have a much shorter life span. 

Some white deer still have a small amount of brown, but a few are completely white. This deer appears to be a completely white deer. 

This is the first time that I have seen a white deer. I felt lucky that I had my camera and was able to capture a few photos.

Paddle over to my website, LeoLakes.com. I paint beautiful lake, river and bay decor maps. Folks are discovering that these decor maps are wonderfully unique gifts that become family heirlooms. Oh yeah, I hide things in the lake waters, such as a tiny mermaid/fish. Folks love to search for them. I call my maps, treasured maps because most folks have that special body of water that they treasure. My treasured maps make a great Christmas gifts for the fisherman, lake lover, or Lake house. 

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

One of my customers framed my Lake of the Ozarks maps and sent me a photo. Man, the black frame really makes the map stand out. This map is hanging somewhere in a lake house on the Lakes on the Ozarks.

Unlike most maps, There’s a tiny mermaid hidden in the waters which folks love to search for and some say she moves around! You'll love the waterfowl which are hand painted (touched up) on the canvas prints to give that original look and each map is hand signed by Leo. For a personal touch, you can even add a small star to the location of your lake house or special place and add a few words such as "Evan's Lake House, Est. 2014" or be creative. The signatured Ruby Meridian, waterfowl and vintage plane have a story that’s included in the signed Certificate of Authenticity.  Leo Lakes treasured maps will make a cherished gift for that special someone. 

Visit my website to see more. I have over two hundred lake, river and bay maps on my website that can be purchased right from the site, or I can do custom and personalized lake, river or bay maps, too. If you would like to see more and read about my treasured maps go to LeoLakes.com. 

Eating fish is hard....

Check-out my photo of this Great Blue Heron. At first, I thought that the heron was eating a baby raccoon. If you look closely, it surely does, but it's actually brim. 

I took this photo from my kayak while fishing on a lake near my home. The heron was having trouble eating the fish and kept dipping it in water and then trying to swallow it. Time after time he attempted to swallow the fish, but it was just too big. After flinging, flopping, and pounding it on the ground he finally got it small enough. It was fun to watch.....eating fish is hard.

Paddle over to my website, LeoLakes.com. I paint beautiful lake, river and bay decor maps. Folks are discovering that these decor maps are wonderfully unique gifts that become family heirlooms. Oh yeah, I hide things in the lake waters, such as a tiny mermaid/fish. Folks love to search for them. I call my maps, treasured maps because most folks have that special body of water that they treasure. My treasured maps make a great Christmas gifts for the fisherman, lake lover, or Lake house. 

As you can see, my maps make a great gift. Click here www.LeoLakes.com for more information.

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

Lake Cartoons

I've been so busy, I've been slow to post, but I have decided to add a few cartoons. You know, I'm still doing bobber cartoons. I had no idea that I could come up with so many, some funny and some not so funny. Hope you like'm and remember, "Waves make life better!" Enjoy

Right now, I'm in my studio painting lake, river and bay maps.  As you can see, my 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. I have decor maps of Old Hickory, Table Rock Lake, Lake Wallenpaupack, Lake Lanier, Toledo Bend, Kentucky Lake, and many others. Oh yeah, I hide a tiny mermaid in the waters of all my maps that folks love to search for. Find out more interesting facts about my treasured maps by going to LeoLakes.com. 

Oh yeah, this is part of my studio! I think I have become a map elf!

Beautiful Kentucky Lake

Last weekend we took our daughter to Governor's school, a summer program for talented high school students. On our way to UT Martin we passed Kentucky Lake. I was lucky enough to briefly get off the beaten path and take few pictures of the surrounding area. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to fish.

This is a picture looking south off highway 79. As you can see, Kentucky Lake is a very large lake. In fact, I wondered what is the distance that you lookout over water and see no land due to the curvature of the earth, so I looked it up. At a height of 6 feet, with no land on the horizon and only water, it is 3 miles (Note: the higher you are above the water, the further you can see). What's the reason for this useless fact? If you cross the Kentucky Dam and carefully lookout over the water, there's an area that you only see water and sky like at the ocean. Now that's a big lake.

Here's a map of Kentucky Lake that I have painted, see more at www.LeoLakes.com). If you look closely, you may find a tourist town named Grand Rivers, which is between Lake Barkley on the Cumberland River and Kentucky Lake on the Tennessee River.

This little town is becoming a destination with shops, restaurants and even entertainment.  

A great place to eat in Grand Rivers is Patti's an 1880's themed restaurant. It started in 1977 and has grown into the top tourist restaurant destination in Kentucky. Try their specialty, pork chops. I have have and they're great.

Patti's is a unique and interesting place with not only a restaurant, but many shops to discover. Check it out at: http://www.pattis-settlement.com/index.htm. Also, near Grand Rivers is Green Turtle Bay Marina and Resort located on the waters of Lake Barkley. Its a good place to launch a boat or have dinner. Just remember: "Life is short, get away from the big screen and get on a big stream".