I doubt that I would have ever sculpted a Moose if I had not have been commissioned to do this animal. Having little or no knowledge of the moose, I discovered that it has a very interesting mouth and nostrils. I conclude that this is due to its feeding habits whereby it apparently likes to feed on aquatic plants below the surface water in the lakes and ponds that it frequents. I can only hope that you enjoy my attempt to recreate this huge, iconic animal.
John Tolmay
Born in Southern Rhodesia in 1943, John Tolmay grew up immersed in the African bush, where an early fascination with wildlife and nature inspired him to begin drawing his observations. After agricultural college in South Africa, he traveled to Europe and the United States, working as a cowboy in Nebraska and New Mexico before returning to Rhodesia in 1966 to ranch.
Tolmay began guiding African hunting safaris in 1974, an experience that gave him an intimate understanding of wildlife, movement, and anatomy - knowledge that would later become fundamental to his work as a sculptor. He completed and sold his first bronze in 1989 and has since devoted himself to capturing the animals and experiences of a lifetime spent in the wild.
A committed conservationist as well as an artist, Tolmay founded Zambia's Nyawa Pilot Project, promoting community-based wildlife management and a sustainable relationship between rural communities and their natural resources.
