Lee Mothes has been fascinated by the ocean’s energy, waves, and beaches as far back as he can remember. He grew up on the California coast and began drawing imaginary places, waves and beaches while still in grade school. Mothes studied art at California College of the Arts in Oakland and at California State University at Long Beach. He then studied architecture for a while at California Polytechnic University at San Luis Obispo. The artist received his Bachelor’s Degree in Art in 1980 at Western Oregon University. In 1987, he moved to the Midwest with his wife Vicki to raise their 3 daughters. Here he suddenly found himself away from the ocean and this compelled him to spend a lot more time painting the ocean. He has found that he can “be at the ocean” by creating imagined beach scenes inspired by those in Oregon, California, and other, places further away.
Mothes often returns to the coast for long trips to get a “feel” of how the waves move and to get new drawing and painting ideas. Since 1990, the artist has been exhibiting and creating his work full-time. Recently, he has also been writing books about his artwork. Some examples of his books include The New Island Guidebook and An Artist’s Journey to Nevermore. He works in graphite pencil, acrylic, and watercolor. His current efforts are a balance of adding content to his New Island project and creating new artwork o ocean-surf. He loves nature, more so the ocean, and has been thrilled by the waves and beaches.
