Steve was born and raised in England and trained to be an architect at Cambridge University. His interest in the profession grew from observing his architect father at work and he also inherited from him and other Rayner ancestors, some of whom were noted Victorian artists, a life-long passion for drawing and painting. He spent a few years indulging another passion, flying, employed as an airline pilot with British Midland Airways in the late 1970s and early 1980s, before returning to architecture. He emigrated to Vancouver with his wife and two daughters in 1994 and worked as an architect in BC up until his retirement from the profession in 2017.

As an artist, Steve loves to study the forms, textures and colours of the natural world, embracing the challenge of capturing the fundamental essence of our environment and the effects of light. He is inspired by the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest, seeking to express the emotional connection he feels with its many facets through landscape painting, his preferred medium being acrylic on canvas or wood panel. Steve’s portfolio includes many forest and mountain scenes, with a field of view that varies from narrow to broad. In addition, since the portrayal of water is of particular interest, much of his recent work focuses on depicting ocean, lakes and rivers, natural features which are an endless source of inspiration, conveying movement and transforming in character with the weather, the season or the time of day.

Steve is an Associate Member of the Federation of Canadian Artists. His work has been featured in two solo exhibitions at the Silk Purse Arts Centre, West Vancouver Community Arts Council: Taking the High Ground (2011); For the Love of Animals (2015).