Just off the main roads of Charlevoix, you’ll find the home of Steve Toornman. And in his backyard rests the art studio he shares with his wife, Meredith Krell. This space is constantly bursting with creative juices. You see, Meredith and Steve are award-winning artists. Their work has not only been displayed in galleries across the state, but they’re well-known beyond Michigan, too. With exposure they’ve received from nationally juried art exhibits and magazines, it’s always fun when their work is showcased back at home.

This creative couple from Charlevoix often stays true to their Northern Michigan roots with their art, and Steve’s most recent exhibit in Charlevoix is no exception. In November and December, several of Steve’s paintings are on display at the Charlevoix Public Library.

“For this exhibit I decided only to show the Northern Michigan-related pieces,” Steve says. “It’s important to me to make art that is a result of my own personal experience. We are all affected by where we live more than we may realize. Dali has said ‘landscape painting is a state of soul’ and I believe that is also true of living up here.”

At Steve’s Charlevoix art show, spectators find many of his landscape paintings based off of subject matter he has found on Northern Michigan back roads.

Steve Toornman's Charlevoix art show

Steve Toornman’s original artwork “All Shook Up”

“I spend a lot of time just driving around searching for unique images. They are not easy to find,” Steve explains.

Besides landscapes, some of Steve’s abstract paintings are on display as well. “The work that I call abstract is still definitely anchored in representation, but the forms are more freely created and may hover on the edge of being more abstract than realist. Within even my most realistic paintings one can find these abstract forms upon close inspection.”

Are you interested in seeing Steve’s Charlevoix art show? His paintings are on the Community Room’s foyer walls at the Charlevoix Public Library from November 2 through December 31. Library hours are Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Plus, head on over to MerfnSteve.com to learn more about Steve’s work revolving around figurines, toys, and other manmade depictions of humans—or to see examples of his wife Meredith’s printmaking.


More Northern Michigan Art

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Photo(s) by Steve Toornman