Tillenius has spent his whole working life drawing and painting the wildlife of North America. He has spent years travelling with the Indian and Inuit people of the Canadian north. He lost his right arm in an accident in 1936, which did not mean the end of his artistic career … he learnt to paint with his left. He is passionate about painting out of doors so he can experience the atmosphere of the scene whilst he is creating his picture, be it a small ‘sketch’ like this, or a larger painting. This small piece was probably used to inform a larger studio painting at a later date. Tillenius is a founder member of the Society of Animal Artists of New York. He has painted many giant dioramas for the major museums in Canada, several of which were awarded ‘national treasure’ status in 2007.