To commemorate a decade of capturing Canberra in a way only he can, acclaimed artist Trevor Dickinson is marking the milestone with a new book, The Book of Canberra, and a companion exhibition.

His latest book is a premium quality hardcover edition featuring “pretty well every single drawing” of Canberra he has ever completed, over 300 works.

“I see my work as being an ongoing portrait,” Dickinson said. “It’s like a way of collating what I’ve got now after 10 years and thinking ‘right, where am I going?’.

“It’s almost like a bit of a full stop in what I’ve done before I move on to the next stage.”

What started out as a modest series of Canberra bus shelter prints during a six-week residency at Megalo Print Studio in 2012 has grown into a whole industry of Canberriana Dickinson has carved out for himself.

His bus shelter series has proven widely popular, with mugs, prints, puzzles and books in the homes of thousands of Canberrans near and far.

Additionally, he’s received commissions from Lonsdale Street Roasters, Westfield Woden, and, quite synergistically, Transport Canberra, to name a few.

“I do really like Canberra, and Canberra’s responded to my work a lot,” he said.

His style has resonated here due to Dickinson’s ability to capture the things we locals take for granted; the odd, unusual, and unique landmarks around town that sometimes take an outsider to notice and truly appreciate.

“That’s what I aim to do, is represent the city people live in and people see.”

Created in the ilk of last year’s The Book of Newcastle and Beautiful Bus Shelters of Canberra, Dickinson said he has a longstanding affinity for the form of a printed publication.

“I’ve always done the zines,” he said. “I like work you can hold and look at.”

Inspired by the picture-heavy, fun, and random books from Monty Python and The Goodies of his childhood in the English village of Swindon, Dickinson said The Book of Canberra is a “lively portrait” of his work here.

“You’d go through it, and you just don’t know what’s on the next page,” he said.

“So, I’ve written the book as kind of lively so as you go through it, things pop up as you wouldn’t expect.”

While light on text, the gorgeous images are accompanied by a deeply personal account of Dickinson’s connection to Canberra that he does while steering clear of anything saccharine or sentimental.

“I just wanted it to be an entertaining book,” he said. “I wanted to make it accessible without dumbing down and without too much art speak.”

‘A DIY Paris salon show feel’

The book’s companion exhibition, titled Fresh Canberra Classics – New Works by Trevor Dickinson, is in show at Lyneham’s Front Café until 3 January.

It’s a retrospective of works Dickinson has completed in the 10 years since that fortuitous first trip to Canberra in early 2012.

“When I applied, I hoped Canberra would be an ongoing drawing project, and so far, it’s turned out that way,” he said.

Featuring works harking all the way back to his first time in town, the exhibition focuses predominantly on newer pieces created for the book.

It includes his well-known and now iconic Clem Cummings bus shelters illustrations, along with other local landmarks like roadside signs; local landmarks and institutions; churches; public art and more all captured in his distinct style.

The works are presented as paste-ups on boards of different sizes and scales. To give them a “19^th century DIY Paris salon show” feel, Dickinson added the fanciest digital gilded frames he could find.

“These are handmade work done in the technique of street art, and I wanted that quality about it.

“It’s just much more immediate,” he said, “In a way, they’re more objects than framed pictures.”

Also visible is Dickinson’s progression as an artist. He started out using no more than eight colours due to his works all being screen printed.

His process has always involved drawing the landscapes by hand on paper before scanning them and colouring digitally.

“Ten years later and my techniques have got a lot more sophisticated,” he said. “The drawings probably have the same kind of feel, but if you look closer there’s a lot more going on in the colours.

Dickinson will be at The Front Café, Lyneham today, Saturday 4 December 10am-2pm for a book signing to launch the exhibition.

Jigsaw puzzles and an all-new 2022 calendar are also available.

Visit Dickinson’s store, Newcastle Productions, for more.

Get all the latest Canberra news, sport, entertainment, lifestyle, competitions and more delivered straight to your inbox with the Canberra Daily Daily Newsletter. Sign up here.