The Last Dragon

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Beneath the western mountains, on the open plains of the high Monaro where the skies are blue and big, there lived a little dragon lizard.

Timpo is the smartest, best-disguised lizard in Narrawallee, the Big Grass Country. Wolfie the spider is his good friend, but there are no other dragon lizards and he is lonely for his own kind.

Timpo and Wolfie embark on a journey to discover if Timpo is indeed the last dragon left in the valley. Through a landscape of grassland, granite boulders, shiny snow gums, and shady creeks they search, encountering new friends but also facing grave danger. Wolfie must return home with her spiderlings, but Timpo trudges on … will he ever find another dragon lizard?

Featuring an author’s essay on the Monaro Grassland Earless Dragon and its grassland habitat, this is a book that will have crossover appeal as a gift book for adults.

ACTW Notable Awards Winner

I really welcomed the opportunity to create this artwork for the National Library - they requested a contemporary art style which gave me a license to explore. This led me to an intensive one on one, two day workshop in textures and mark making with an exceptional contemporary artist, Susan Bowers. Gosh did we have some fun! Inks, acrylics, graphite, mixing all kinds of mediums to find the best way to represent the landscape, the rocks and in particular, little Timpo himself. I am so grateful to Susan for sharing her knowledge with me and I am positive these techniques will find themselves in another book in the not too distant future. Ultimately, all the artwork for The Last Dragon was created on architectural film and digitally combined.

Learn more about the Grassland Earless Dragon in the National Library digital classroom, direct from the Author, Charles Massy.