Canvas Lake Decor Maps

I paint lake, river and bay maps and have for the last 4-5 years. They have become something that I love to do. I often receive emails from customers about my maps. Here's one that I received after Fathers Day.

"Hi Larry, just wanted to thank you again for the Lake Nebagamon map.  I gave it to my father in law for Fathers Day and he absolutely loved it!  His wife told me he said it was the best gift he ever received." 

I call my maps treasured maps because most folks have that special body of water that they treasure.  I have over two hundred on my website that can be purchased right from the site, or I can paint a custom lake, river or bay map, too. I hide a tiny mermaid/fish in the waters of all my lake map paintings that folks love to search for.  

Here's a few more recent comments

Customer Email: 6/22/15: Hi Larry, just wanted to thank you again for the Lake Nebagamon map.  I gave it to my father in law for Fathers Day and he absolutely loved it!  His wife told me he said it was the best gift he ever received.(Custom Lake Map)

Customer Email: 6/12/15: I got the picture today! Looks really good.  Thank you very much. Great job. Very satisfied!!! (Bull Shoals Lake) 

Customer Email: 6/8/15: Received the map in the mail over the weekend. Much sooner than I expected! It looks amazing! One of a kind, crafted really well! You added all the special locations I asked for and it is perfect! Thank you so much!!(Table Rock Lake)

Customer Email: 5/20/15: It’s perfect!! Love it! It’s a b’day gift for my  husband. He will love it too. Thanks so much:) (Choctawhatchee Bay)

Customer Email: 5/04/15: Hi Larry, Received the map right on time and wanted to let you know it’s great! I like things for the lake house that you just don’t see everywhere and this is just perfect. When my friends get their place rebuilt this is going to be the best house warming present! Thanks again. (Custom Lake Map)

If you are looking for a gift, my maps make a great gift for the lake house owner, lake lover, or fisherman. See more and read about my treasured maps, go to LeoMaps.com. 

"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

Check this monster out! A Tennessee state record Largemouth at 15.2 lbs. The massive fish was caught on Chickamauga Lake in East Tennessee and breaks the old record of 14.8 lbs caught in 1954. I think if I caught this lunker, I would have the biggest smile on my face!

Check-out my vintage style maps that I paint of lakes, rivers, and bays,  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 personalized lake, river or bay maps, too. If you would like to see more and read about my treasured maps go to LeoMaps.com. 


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, or at least enjoy one on your wall.

Lake House, Fish sun screen, Alien week

Occasionally, I draw cartoons for fun. I've just finished a few more bait cartoons, yes bait cartoons. You may ask why bait cartoons? Well, it seems that the fishermen or fish always get the cartoon spotlight, so I decided to be the only person to focus on bait. Think about it, without bait no fishing or fishermen! Also, bait can be fun. Have you ever left your fishing worms in the refrigerator and your wife found them? Me either, because I hide them behind the the big jar of pickles. Also, don't just Bait, BaitRageous! Enjoy, 

Oh yeah, check-out my vintage style maps for the lake house. If you have a special Lake, River or Bay, then paddle over to my website at LeoLakes.com. We also do custom maps and personalized maps.

Remember: " Get away from the big screen and get on a big stream, if not, then at least put on the wall." 

Frame your Favorite, Lake, River, or Bay, LeoLakes.com. 

I must have been a lighthouse keeper in a past life... sort of !

I ate at a Red Lobster the other day with my wife and teenager. After we finished our meal, I started looking at the decor. If you have ever been to Red Lobster, the decor is all about the sea, lobster and seascapes.

One particular photo stuck out in my mind, it was like deja vu. I felt myself drawn to this photo of a lighthouse for some reason. I thought, maybe in a past life, I was the lighthouse keeper of this lighthouse. Then I remembered.....

Oh dang, I've been to that lighthouse and it wasn't long ago while on a trip to Maine. It's the Portland Head Lighthouse in Portland, Maine. Here's the proof, a photo that I took. Oh well, I don't guess that in a past life I was a lighthouse keeper, but I almost worked at a Red Lobster when I was in high school!

Check-out my custom and personalized river, lake and bay maps. 

Portland Maine Road Trip

Road Trip! I went on a long road trip last week to see a few places that I've never visited and some that I have. One of those places is known for great lobster...yes it's Maine and it's "wicked good" as they say here! We stayed overnight in Portland and were able to see a few sights and eat some delicious lobster.

One of the big attractions is the Portland Head Lighthouse. It's located at the entrance of the main shipping lane to Portland's Harbor. The lighthouse was finished in 1791 making it Maine's oldest.

I added a map to give a prospective of the area. Think if you were the Captain of a ship, navigating the waters before 1791 at night. What do you think your chances of getting the ship to safe passage would have been.

Portland Head Lighthouse is a picturesque lighthouse. Off to the right, you can see the beginning of Ram Island. I'm wondering why they called it Ram Island, could it be that many ships rammed the island?

Fact is, ships did hit the ledge many times, so many  the government finally erected the Ram Island Ledge Lighthouse in 1905. It's pretty much abandoned now, but is on the National Register of Historical places.  

How would you like to be the lighthouse keeper at Ram Island Ledge Lighthouse in 1905? They say that during big storms, waves crash into the lighthouse reaching over half its height.

The coast is rocky and interesting to look at. There are small beach areas tucked in between the rocks, very little sand and mostly hand size stones.

The gulls must have a good life here, you often see them lounging around on the rocks. 

Here I am with the wifey. As you can see, she is looking down at something, probably a lobster headed in the direction of her toes. Anyway, after Maine we spent 2 days in Montreal, 2 days in Toronto, and 1 day in Columbus, Ohio.  

One last thought from Maine.

Can living in the ten acre woods be productive?

We live on ten acres that we call, "The Ten Acre Woods". There's no Eeyore or Piglet here, but you will find many adventures near the creeks, woods, and fields. This story provides a little different prospective on living in the woods by asking the question: "Can living in the ten acre woods be productive?" Yes it can Piglet, yes it can! 

Here's a product of our ten acre woods, our daughter, Callie. She has lived in our ten acre woods all her life. When she was young, she searched for roly-poly bugs under rocks around our house. On the back of our ten acre woods, she has waded in the little stream of Sulfur Creek, looking for crayfish and catching fish. While waking in the morning, she has heard the rat-a-tap of a red breasted woodpecker on the side of our western cedar house. 

What did the ten acre woods produce? Well, she just received a Bachelor Degree from Sewanee in Biology with a minor in Environmental Studies, Summa Cum Laude, Honors, Phi Beta Kappa, Ranked 4th in the class. You see, living in the woods can be productive, because now she will be studying the streams, woods, and fields. 

Here's the whole crew, I'm the tall one!

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

Awesome Father's Day gift for the lake lover!!!

Here's the best Father's Day gift for the lake lover, a personalized vintage style map of their favorite lake, river, or bay. What a unique gift for the sportsman, lake lover, boat or lake house owner. Add those cherished photo's of that big trophy fish, fun family outing, lake house, favorite sail boat, lucky lure, or water skiing trip directly to their favorite vintage style lake map.

Folks are discovering that these personalized decor maps are wonderfully unique gifts that become family heirlooms. Oh yeah, I hid things in the lakes waters, which make the maps even more interesting. 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. 


As you can see, my maps make a great gift. To see more of my work click 
Orders are picking up during the holiday's, so order soon. Click here www.LeoLakes.com for more information.

Summer is near!

Summer is near! My daughter Sarah, just finished her freshmen year at Sewanee, The University of the South. For the summer, Sarah will be working with me at Old Field Studio (LeoLakes). Boy do I have work for her to do, lots of things that I have been putting off. Oh yeah, I've been working on a lake map for the Arkansas Tourism Department, but more about that later. Anyway, Life is short, get away from the big screen and get on a big stream!

Check-out my website at LeoLakes.com. I have many vintage style decor maps of your favorite lake that look great hanging in a lake house, home or office. 

"As I look over this lake, The most amazing scenes appears in its wake, The sun arises just above the shore, Giving grace and beauty to this place that I adore." LKO

Big Bear Lake

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

Neighbors in the woods!

We live in the "ten acre woods" and have lots of neighbors. I thought I would let you meet some of the finest neighbors in the world. They sometimes come by and visit, but like good neighbors, they don't stay too long.

Here's Racky the Raccoon, peeping in the backdoor. My wife thinks Racky is a bit of a peeping Tom. Speaking of Tom, Tom the Turkey stopped by for a snack.

Tom really strut's his stuff on most days, but this was Thanksgiving and Tom wanted to be alone for some reason?

Oh yeah, we have a house guest named Ring Neck the snake. Old Ring Neck only stayed a little while because he made the wife and teenagers nervous. I had to show Ring Neck the door after brooms were drawn. Too bad Ring Neck!

Some guests visit at night like Polly the possum. Polly was born in Tennessee and for some reason is attracted to orange. Go figure. Hmmmm... really why is this Possum on an orange blanket? Because he kicked Freckles the Feral cat, that my wife feeds, from his sleeping quarters in order to get to the food. Some guest are just like pigs. 

Ah, here's Fred the Fox. He's a little sneaky neighbor that likes to come by for a free meal. 

Last but not least, Dolly the Deer looking beautiful near the salt block.

.......and that's the end of the finest neighbors in the ten acre woods! 

If you ever need a beautiful map, then check out my website, LeoLakes.com

Vintage style Lakes Maps for the Lake House!

I often receive nice emails back from folks who have purchased one of my maps. It certainly makes one feel good when you get a comment like this one from a customer who purchased a Center Hill Lake Decor Map. 

"We received it yesterday and it is absolutely beautiful and perfect. What an artist! And I found the mermaids, finally! Thank You for an amazing work of art."

The Center Hill Lake Map has a nice vintage style look. I add waterfowl common to the lake flying over to give the map interest. I also include A few small fish and a tiny little mermaid.

I've added a close up section to give 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. Here's the wonderful lake poem that my wife wrote about lakes, rivers, and bays.

"As I look over this beloved waterscape, The most amazing scenes appear in its wake, The sun arises above the shore, Giving grace and beauty to this place that I adore."  

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

A unique wedding gift, A Wedding Map!

Interestingly, more folks are having their wedding on lakes and beaches. It makes for some great memories and picturesque wedding photos. In fact, I'm having more folks order lake or bay maps as wedding gifts. Uniquely, they place a heart and date with the couples name near the location of the wedding.  

Not long ago, I was asked to add two hearts to one of my lake decor maps. The first heart was placed near the location that the couple first met and labeled, "The Day We Met" with the date. A second heart was added to the location that they were wed, labeled "Our Wedding Date." with the date. This makes a great family heirloom! If you know someone who is getting married on or near a lake or bay, then why not give them a unique wedding gift, "A wedding map." Check-out my maps at LeoLakes.com

Venice Rookery Photos

Last week I traveled to Florida and got a chance to visit the Venice Rookery, which is located in Venice Florida. The rookery is a great place to photograph and view many birds nesting during February, March and April. Waterfowl nest on the island in the middle of the small lake. There's a gravel path that faces the island were folks set-up to take pictures and view the birds.

I arrived at 6:00 am and there was a fine mist in the air, great for photography. The island was not loaded with birds as I've seen before, but still a number of birds were nesting. 

This Great Blue Heron with the spiked hair just returned from the gulf on a fishing trip. The adults take turns fishing, feeding and protecting the chicks.

Nesting Egrets with a small chick. The birds nest on the island for security. Believe it or not here's the security guard, alligator.

  

The resident gator cruises the waters in hopes of a meal. Without the gator, raccoon's could possibly raid the island. 

If you enjoy nature, birds, and the outdoors, then you should take a trip to the Venice Rookery located in Venice Florida. Sometimes it's more fun photographing the bird watchers, watching the birds. Be careful while photographing and watch for gators.