Lee Mothes

Lee Mothes has always been fascinated by imaginary places and the energy of ocean surf. He spent most of his California childhood on the beach, and began drawing beaches and made-up places while still in grade school. When he was 11, he and some friends built a clubhouse that became their hangout for over four years. These clubhouse experiences inspired Lee to write his how-to book for both kids and grownups: “Keep out! Build your own Backyard Clubhouse”. Lee studied art in college, finally earning a Bachelor’s Degree at Western Oregon University in 1980. In those years he also lived in an intentional community that owned a hot springs resort in California. After reading Tolkien’s sagas and James Gurney’s “Dinotopia”, Lee found that his artwork and his alternative-cultural experiences could become part of his own island-nation, with its own quirky culture. In 1995 he outlined the island’s history and began mapping the place he calls The Commonwealth of New Island. The result is “The New Island Guidebook”, now in its third edition. Lee continues to add more pictures and content to New Island, and to capture the light and energy of the ocean in his paintings. He lives in Wisconsin, and frequently visits his old homeland, the California coast.