Steve graduated from Weber State University in 1971 with a B.S. Degree in Commercial Art and again in 1973 with a B.S. Degree in Art Education. Returning to school in 1983, he received his M.F.A. in Painting from Utah State University. In 1989, Steve had the opportunity to study at the Royal Academy of Art in London.
Steve began his art career as a designer for Marveon Sign Company. He later went into teaching art on the high school level and found it to be both challenging and satisfying. He has received numerous awards for his dedication to the students. Among those awards were: Utah State University ‘Art Teacher of the Year’ (4 state area) in 1985, ‘Teacher of the Year’ for Weber School District in 1988, first runner-up to ‘Utah Teacher of the Year’ in 1988, and USWEST’s ‘Outstanding Teacher of the Year for the state of Utah’ in 1991. In 1997, after 25 years of teaching, Steve retired from the classroom to devote himself full-time to painting.
Steve is a very accomplished painter. In the past twenty-five years, he has been featured in many invitational art exhibitions, receiving numerous awards such as: 1st Place in the Eccles Statewide Competition, 1st place in the St. George Art Festival and Award of Merit from Utah Watercolor Society. More recently he won the purchase award at both the Springville Salon and the Dixie Invitational, and had a painting selected for the permanent collection of the Utah State Division of Fine Arts. His paintings can be found in private collections throughout the world.
With his unique art ability, Steve has had the opportunity to be involved in a variety of projects from illustrating the cover for the Will Roger’s Cookbook to designing the Model Railroad Museum at the Ogden Union Station. The project that is ‘closest to his heart’, however, is being the illustrator and co-author of the well-known Santa Claus Book.
Steve has had many opportunities to travel throughout the world. He has chaperoned student tours through Europe, has acted as design consultant in Caracas, Venezuela, has worked a commercial fishing boat in Alaska, and has camped through the entire Eastern United States with ‘first-time-camper wife’ and children.
Steve has served his community well, acting as Scout Leader for ten years, serving on the Board of Directors for the Ogden Union Station, serving on the Board of Directors for Huntsville Waterworks Corporation, serving on the Myra Powell Gallery Board, and being chairman of the Huntsville Tree Committee whose function it has been to raise money and plant 240 shade trees along the streets of Huntsville. Steve served for five years on the Board of Directors for the Eccles Community Art Center in Ogden where he worked with landscape architects to bring about the completion of a major renovation. Recently, Steve served a four-year term as an elected Councilman for the town of Huntsville.
In 1999 Steve received national attention as one of Southwest Art magazine’s “Artists to Watch”. In their Fall 2006 issue, Art of the West magazine featured an article on Steve and what inspired some of his Valley paintings such as “Clouds Over Middlefork” and “Libery Gold”.
On December 6, 2006, at the Governor’s Mansion, Steve received the prestigious Governor’s Award in the category of fine art. And in October 2010, Steve received top honors in visual arts from Ogden’s mayor, Matthew Godfrey.
Steve is a very well-rounded, talented individual who has been an inspiration to many through his various contributions to the world of art.