Steve Songer
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. Steve has 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.
When artists gather to talk shop, Steve tends to sit back and listen until someone says, “Steve, what do you think?” and all heads turn to hear what Steve has to say.
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 Rogers’ 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.
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.
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