Martin Koch began painting and drawing at the early age of ten in his hometown of Pretoria, South Africa. His inspiration came from his natural surroundings and his passion for the wildlife that was indigenous to the area. As a boy, Koch would sketch and paint anything that he could find but it was not until he was eighteen and old enough to venture into the South African bush that he began painting the scenes of animal life for which he has become so noteworthy. By the time that he was
twenty-two, Koch was known as the youngest professional artist in South Africa.

"I sell South Africa," says Koch, who has always lived there and admits to feeling safer there than anywhere else in the world. Although he paints a variety of subjects...