Steve Winterburn’s road to becoming a master sculptor has been a winding one; he first worked for Dunlop Engineering until two injuries forced him to leave the company. After his resignation, Winterburn set up a business restoring motorcycles, and this led to launching his own design business, which attracted clients like Rover, Barclays, and Virgin Records.

In 1992, Winterburn began to teach himself how to sculpt, but after creating only two pieces, he gave up on the medium. It took him four years, until 1996, to attempt sculpture again – this time, with much better results. Winterburn held his first exhibition that May at the British Raptor & Falconry Fayre and met fellow artist Alan Hunt, who gave Winterburn his first commission. Though always inspired by wildlife, a trip to the Marwell Zoo helped Winterburn to realize that he could use his art to aid in wildlife conservation as well. Winterburn then went on safari with Project Africa, and donated a percentage of his sales to charity.