In the 1970s, she submitted cartoons to a number of publications and in 1976, her children’s book The Nickle Nackle Tree marked the beginning of a long career and the first of 30 books.

Her freelance illustration career at the New Zealand Correspondence School began when Dodd was married with two children. They covered a huge area, and they were planted in tidy rows, so I was never allowed to wander too far into the forest because I was scared that I’d never find my way out.’’Ī talented artist from a young age, in 1959 Dodd studied at Elam, the University of Auckland’s School of Fine Arts, before becoming a secondary school art teacher at the Auckland Teachers’ College, and then teaching at Queen Margaret College in Wellington for five years. ‘‘There wasn’t enough cobalt in the soil, and too much pumice, so the trees were rather low and sad. ‘‘They were rather stunted trees,’’ she recalls. More of Lynley Dodd's beloved characters.īorn in Rotorua in 1941, Dodd’s father was a forester, and the family lived in a tiny settlement (of between four and 10 houses) surrounded by a pine forest. Published in 1974, My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes (with Eve Sutton) remains in print, but it was the unruly terrier who would make Dodd famous when her tenth book, Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy, was published in 1983. I was worried someone might recognise me as I walked around.’’īefore the famous dog with flyaway hair, Dodd had early success with a story about a cat. ‘‘When I first saw the exhibition, I was tempted to wear a false nose and a trenchcoat with the collar turned up. The artist planned to attend the Mornington opening, but had to cancel the visit to care for her husband. The exhibition, which opened in Tauranga Art Gallery and was curated by director Penelope Jackson, is made up of 59 original sketches and drawings from Dodd’s books, including the Hairy Maclary series. Speaking from her home in Tauranga, New Zealand, Dodd (who was awarded the Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2002) is the subject of a retrospective at the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery. Credit: Penguin Group (NZ) and Lynley Dodd Doggerel: Hairy Maclary and Friends, Lynley Dodd, 2012.

Lynley dodd