Born in Preston, Steven completed an art foundation year at Wigan & Leigh College before studying at Cleveland College of Art. After leaving university in 1995, he gained an international reputation for painting large scale scenic works. Commissions included Madame Tussaud's, Sea Life, Blackpool Tower and Museums such as the Natural History Museum. He restored ceiling murals in the Blackpool Tower Ballroom and painted a thirty- six metre backdrop for the ‘War Horse’ exhibition in the Nationl Army Museum. He has exhibited at the Royal Institute of Oil Painters and Royal Society of Marine Artists and is a full member of the Manchester Academy of Fine Arts where he also serves on the Council. In 2023 The Museum of Brands in Notting Hill held a major solo show of his paintings inspired by items found in the Museum's collection.