The Magical Life of Mr. Renny

Mr. Renny is a very good artist, but no one wants to buy his paintings. He has no money, and he’s hungry. One day a stranger (strongly reminiscent of René Magritte) offers to make Mr. Renny’s dreams come true: everything he paints will come to life. An apple, a car, a cruise ship, an airplane... There’s so much he’d like to have that Mr. Renny paints himself a life of luxury. Then his friend Rose asks if she can buy one of his paintings. The spell has to be broken – and soon!
Mr. Renny makes his most beautiful painting ever, and with it gets what his heart longs for most. But he’s also struck by the realisation that having a lot of things doesn’t bring happiness.

Leo Timmers’ drawings are extraordinarily inventive. He manages to summon up an entire world with just a few words. In this story, with a big nod to Belgian surrealist painter René Magritte, he combines a rich imagination with a clear, purified visual language. The result is astonishing, and full of clever and amusing details.