Martin was born in England in the summer of 1982. At the time his parents, both zoologists, were temporarily living in Nairobi, Kenya having recently come from working with Orangutans in Indonesia and ready to take on a new project in southern Sudan. However after his father, Conrad, was kidnapped by Sudanese rebels and held hostage for a week plans changed and they moved on to Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) to manage the mountain gorilla project in the Virunga National Park on the border of Rwanda and Zaire.

It was here that Martin started drawing at a very early age. Surrounded by stunning landscapes and a wealth of interesting fauna and flora he soon developed a passion for the natural world, in particular wildlife. This is a theme that has remained a constant throughout his life.

"Hunting dog" pastel

 At the age of 7 Martin's parents separated and he moved to Nairobi with his mother and 2 brothers. Here he attended school until the age of 16, receiving awards for his art at every rung on the educational ladder. He then moved to the UK to study for the IB (International Baccalaureate) at Sevenoaks School in Kent. It was her that he studied under sculptor Oliver Barratt, and upon graduation was awarded the school's top prize for IB art.

After finishing at Sevenoaks Martin took a year to travel around the world with freinds. During this time he spent 3 months doing volunteer work with Watamu Turtle Watch along the Kenyan coast. For the second part of the year he worked toward his first art exhibition, "Metamorphosis" which was held in The Pool Room in Nairobi. The event was a great success and he has had three subsequent solo exhibitions: "Visualise" at the Karen Country Club, Nairobi (2002), "Transitions" at the Talisman, Nairobi (2004), and "Out of Africa" athe the CB2 Bistro in Cambridge (2006)

Martin attended university in the UK, graduating from the University of Bristol in 2004 with a degree in Geography. He continues to draw and paint today, largely through his favoured pastel pencils, and hopes to carry on communicating wildlife through this medium.

Martin is responsible for the Alive and Kicking project in Northern Mozambique (See member news and events for more details)

"Face of the forest" pastel