John Leben’s Silent Stairways series is inspired by the West Michigan coastline along Lake Michigan, where towering sand dunes shape the landscape. Nearly every lakeside home is connected to the water by a long wooden stairway winding down through the dunes. These paintings reflect familiar sights from places like Saugatuck, Douglas, Holland, South Haven, and Fennville, capturing the quiet, everyday beauty of moving between home and lake in this unique region.