Stephen Axelsen was born in Sydney, NSW and educated at Beaumont Road Public School, Chatswood High School and Macquarie University. After graduating in 1973 he worked as a house painter. While he was painting the house of Jack Pollard, a Sydney publisher, the question of book illustration came up and, even though he had no training at all in art, he decided to try his hand at producing a picture book. Neither this book, nor another which followed, was accepted for publication. Soon afterwards he was successful in obtaining commissions to illustrate three mass-market 'Blinky Bill' titles, and Cliff Green's The Incredible Steam-Driven Adventures of Riverboat Bill (McVitty, Walter 1989). While living in Adelaide he had his first success, writing and illustrating The Oath of Bad Brown Bill. In 1987 he illustrated Harriet and Christopher and Me by Libby Hathorn, which won Children's Book Council Book of the Year for Younger Readers.