Stephen is perhaps best known for his original children¹s books including the Publishers Weekly bestseller My Little Red Toolbox and Alphabet City which was the recipient of numerous honors and awards including a Caldecott Honor, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year and was featured in its entirety on ABC¹s "Good Morning America." He has illustrated seventeen children's books to date and has many more in different states of completion.
In addition, his work has graced the covers of Time and Forbes magazines, record and CD covers, posters for The Missouri State Ballet, The Association of Kansas Theater, and The Children's Book Council. Stephen's sixty-six foot, mosaic mural for the New York City subway system can be seen at the DeKalb Avenue Subway Station in Brooklyn, New York.

Among the many awards for his artwork are 2 Gold Medals and 2 Silver Medals from the Society of Illustrators in NYC, and five awards from the Pastel Society of America where he was elected a Master Pastelist in 1995.

Stephen's paintings have been exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Katonah Museum of Art, and the Norman Rockwell Museum among others. His original works of art can be found in the collections of the Mulvane Art Museum (KS), the New Britain Museum of American Art (CT), and the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. and numerous private collections, such as that of Paul Simon and Eddie Brickell.

In Lawrence, Kansas, Stephen's artwork can be seen at the Pediatric wing of Lawrence Memorial Hospital, where you can find a permanent display of many of his original children's book illustrations as well as seven interactive robot sculptures, The KU Law School, which recently unveiled his large painting titled "The Spirit of Laws", in celebration of the Law Schools 125th anniversary, and The Lied Center for Performing Arts where an eighteen foot aluminum abstract sculpture celebrates the 100 anniversary of the Concert Series at KU.