Lee has been fascinated by beaches, waves, and the ocean's energy as far back as he can remember. He grew up on the California coast and began drawing "scenes he'd like to see", as he calls them, while in grade school. He studied art for several years, achieving a BS degree in Art at Western Oregon University in 1980. Lee also operated a printing shop, co-owned a hot springs resort, and spent a few years as a freelance carpenter to pay the bills. But his love of drawing and painting never wavered. He met his wife Vicki in 1983 while building his own house on the Oregon Coast, and with their growing family, moved to Kaukauna, Wisconsin in 1987. The irony of being away from the ocean compelled Lee to spend a lot more time not only painting beach scenes from memory, but also dreaming of other coastlines far away from North America. In 1990 he began exhibiting his work full-time, primarily through art fairs, and eventually launched his website, www.oceansanddreams.com. In 1995 Lee began to assemble his beach scenes into an imaginary island-nation he calls The Commonwealth of New Island. He found he could create an entirely new place, with images, maps, a history, climate and its own quirky culture partly inspired by his early years on the California coast. Lee has recently published a complete travel guide to the island, The New Island Guidebook, available on Amazon. The Hum takes place there. Go to www.newisland.net to visit New Island, and see it for yourself.