Larry had first seen and videotaped the buck a year earlier. He always carries a video camera to tape bucks he's not trying to shoot. Larry Zach has accomplished much in his lifetime, and art is only one part of the story. Highlights include: a Bronze Star for Valor during Vietnam; a master’s degree in science education; two nominations for teacher of the year; six designations as “Artist of the Year” for various Iowa conservation groups, one for the National Wild Turkey Federation, and one for Iowa Ducks Unlimited; and the Iowa Governor’s Volunteer Award. Zach achieves so much with the simple attitude, “My greatest goal is to always do better. The next time I paint a buck he’ll be better that the last.” This dedication to excellence has brought him well-deserved notoriety and respect.

     The wildlife captured in Zach’s artwork represents more that the simple depiction of nature and beast. For someone who has experienced the outdoors, Zach’s artwork implies a deep respect for the wild lands - lands that support his beloved wildlife. Contributing to numerous conservation societies and organizations, Larry Zach wholeheartedly supports the protection of the outdoor lifestyle. A major part of that lifestyle consists of the often misinterpreted but necessary sport of hunting. “I am a firm believer in the importance of hunting as a tool in sound, science based, wildlife management.” For thousands upon thousands of years man has hunted, but “only in the last few decades have a few people decided hunting is wrong,” he adds.

     For a true hunter there exists nothing as intriguing or splendid as the animal he hunts, and Larry Zach personifies the true hunter. With a compound bow (his weapon of choice), several cameras, and video equipment, Zach stalks his quarry and his art subjects, sometimes for years. Taking pictures and films of the wildlife he hunts and paints, Zach follow his subjects, watching young bucks grow into maturity. “I carefully control the population of deer on my farm to keep the animals healthy and in balance with the environment,” The talent needed to hunt with a bow comes with patience and knowledge, which are acquired only with practice and attention to detail. Those same skills that make Zach a superb hunter also contribute to his abilities as an artist.

     Zach’s limited edition prints have constantly appreciated in value, and consider him one of the most popular wildlife artists working today. His third and newest print in the Big Buck Series, Big Country Bucks, illustrates the extensive research and care Zach dedicates to his art.

     Furthermore, Zach works with a variety of conservation groups and has helped raise well over a million dollars for conservation projects. He also donates time, knowledge, and personal resources to the reclamation of Iowa’s natural ecosystems. “On my own farm I have established ponds and wetlands, and have worked to improve the health of the forest and re-established the prairie,” adding that he believes a wide range of habitat types is needed for a healthy ecosystem that will guarantee outdoor and hunting traditions can for future generations to enjoy.

     With a lifetime of outdoor experience, a biology degree, and “a deep love of nature,” Zach has captured the images of these great animals in his art: but more important, he has raised his children to hunt responsibly and has passed the American tradition of respect and conservation to another generation.

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