Steven graduated from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in 2004 and was awarded The Aiden Threlfall Traveling Scholarship later that year. He used the highly-prestigious scholrship to he spend time in Paris, Venice, Rome and Madrid studying works of the old masters, namely Velazquez, Caravaggio and Manet. This trip proved very influential as these artists’ chiaroscuro style can still be seen in many of his recent work.