DUNE CHAIRS
Sometimes I think about the challenge of building a stairway like this down to the beach. It is a beautiful stairway and I like fantasizing about where it leads. What will I find if I climb those stairs? What’s at the top?  These long stairways hold a secret memory of anticipation, storing every footfall in their wooden steps from every family that ventures down for a day at the beach. It's the nostalgia of carefree summer fun, but also the mystery of strangers never met. And the houses... Who lives there? Where do they come from? Where are they now? Empty houses, most of them. Summer houses, vacant, waiting for the next family. The stairs, silent, brooding, except in summer months when footsteps, young and old echo up and down these old treads.

THE VISION
I have been living along the shores of Lake Michigan for many years. One of my favorite pastimes is walking the beach, listening to the waves lapping at the shore with the soft sand tickling my toes. I like to look out at the vast waters of Lake Michigan, but I also like to turn around and admire the stairways home owners build down to the beach. It’s all sand dunes on the western side of Michigan… big dunes leading down to the Lake… so, it takes a lot of stairs to get down here.

Summers are busy on these stairs, vacationers and kids running up and down them, laughing and hooting with joy, but I like the off season the best… when the stairs are silent. I fantasize about the many people who have used these stairs year after year… and about how these stairs lead to those great summer homes at the top of the dunes. Yes, the stairs are silent now, but brimming with the history of those long summer days that end with the sun hissing into the sweet waters of Lake Michigan.

THE TECHNIQUE
John Leben is a digital artist, and as such paints his pictures in his computer using powerful software, offering prints of his original compositions. That makes Leben a printmaker who uses digital technology for expression and reproduction. Paper prints are produced by the artist in his Saugatuck, Michigan studio. Canvas prints are produced one at a time at the Grand Rapids Michigan studio. All prints are individually signed and numbered by the artist.

THE MEDIUM
Epson Watercolor paper Prints
• Watercolor paper prints are printed with archival Epson pigment inks on Epson Cold Press Bright Textured Paper, a 100% cotton rag paper that is acid, lignin, and chlorine free with a bright textured finish. Epson Cold Press Bright paper has a high color gamut and black density and is pH buffered with calcium carbonate for a true archival sheet.

• Unframed limited edition prints are backed by acid-free foam core and packaged in a clear acetate envelope. They are shipped flat.

• Framed limited edition prints are backed by acid-free foam core and glazed with reflection control acrylic for UV protection. Frames are museum-style matte black aluminum, Nielson profile 93-21

• All of John Leben's limited editions on paper feature distinctive deckled edges around the image with a generous white border that eliminates the need for a mat.

Canvas Prints
• Canvases are printed with archival Epson pigment inks on PremierArt Museum Bright Satin Canvas. Each canvas is coated with PremierArt Eco Print Shield, a solvent-free satin varnish that provides physical and UV protection for your print. 

• Small, medium and large canvases are stretched on 3/4 inch hardwood stretcher bars and printed with a mirror edge suitable for hanging as a gallery wrap.

• For framed canvases, the stretched gallery wrapped canvas is suspended in a floater frame with a choice of black, maple or walnut framing.

• Extra large canvas prints are mounted on 1/2-inch gator board and double framed with black aluminum and honey oak with decorative brass bolts. Shipping is extra for extra large canvases.

• Custom sizes are also available. Contact John Leben: JLEBEN@LEBENART.COM


SIZING OPTIONS

Vertical Format on Paper

Note Card - 3.5x7 inches
Open Edition With Envelope 14

Small - Edition of 150
Paper Size: 8x16 inches/Image Size: 5x12.5 inches
Unframed: 64
Framed (Black Aluminum): 150

Medium - Edition of 100
Paper Size: 12x24 inches/Image size: 11x20 inches
Unframed: 150
Framed (Black Aluminum): 250

Vertical Format on Canvas

Small - Edition of 50
Canvas and Image Size: 15x36 inches
Gallery Wrap - Mirror Edge: 595
Mirror Edge in Float Frame (Maple, Walnut or Black): 695

Medium - Edition of 30
Canvas and Image Size: 20x48 inches
Gallery Wrap - Mirror Edge: 895
Mirror Edge in Float Frame (Maple, Walnut or Black): 995

Large - Edition of 15
Canvas and Image Size: 25x60 inches
Gallery Wrap - Mirror Edge: 1250
Mirror Edge in Float Frame (Maple, Walnut or Black): 1450

Extra large Canvas - Edition of 5
Canvas and Image Size: 36x84 inches
Canvas mounted on 1/2-inch Gator Board and double framed in Black Aluminum and Honey Oak with decorative Brass bolts: 2950

NOTE FROM THE ARTIST
“Hey, thanks so much for stopping by and thank you for your interest in my work.  I am constantly producing new work so please check back regularly.  Also, keep in mind that many limited editions can be produced in additional custom sizes.  Don’t hesitate to reach out to me personally at jleben@lebenart.com with any questions regarding my work.  Take care and thanks for your support.”  - John