Too Many Cheeky Dogs
Dion Beasley
Dion’s involvement with the picture book “Too Many Cheeky Dogs” began when author Johanna Bell, having written a script for a children’s book, asked if Dion would be happy to illustrate it. Thus began the collaborative work between Johanna and Dion.
As Dion is profoundly deaf, communication, working to a schedule and the physical distance between their homes were challenges to be met: Johanna lives in Darwin and Dion in Tennant Creek Dion and Johanna spent time both in Tennant Creek and Darwin working on the book and through humour, improvised acting and patience, many wonderful and funny pictures emerged.
As Dion has lived in many communities throughout the Barkly Region, he is able to accurately reproduce community life with its vast array of canine characters, people and houses. When drawing his dogs and communities Dion is working from real life and accurately interprets the world around him. Dion has an excellent memory and an incredible eye for detail. When asked to draw animals in imaginary situations Dion rose to the challenge and created drawings which
matched texts in the book.
During the workshops in Darwin, Dion worked with Ruth Gruener (a Graphic Designer) on page composition and digital illustration. Working with others on a project has broadened Dion’s working experience and established strong friendships.
Although “Too Many Cheeky Dogs” was initially written for young children living in remote areas, the book has appealed to a wide range of children and families, and has proved to be an invaluable teaching resource in a variety of learning areas.
Dion understands that many people love his work but for him satisfaction comes from being able to immerse himself in his art and express himself through his drawings ,mapping and modelling.
For more informating and to purchase Too Many Cheeky Dogs follow the link below.