Picture This: Remy and Lulu

Remy and Lulu by Kevin Hawkes, with miniatures by Hannah E. Harrison


Lulu the dog and Remy the painter travel the French countryside painting portraits. His eyesight isn't so great, but, as he says, his “vision is clear” and he paints from the heart. His large, abstract paintings are appreciated little at first, but soon customers are paying lots of money to have their portraits painted. What Remy doesn’t realize is that Lulu is painting a perfectly realistic miniature portrait of his customer’s pet on each canvas, and it is those that are drawing attention and acclaim. When an optometrist (appropriately named Doctor Lunette) gifts him a pair of new glasses, Remy sees the tiny portrait for the first time. Hurt and discouraged, will Remy ever paint again?

Spoiler alert—yes, he does. The ending is as charming and funny as the rest of the book.

Remy, now with 20/20 vision, goes into a funk. He refuses to paint, he doesn’t speak to Lulu. But when he receives a letter from gallery owner Madame Renard, inviting him to paint for her, he gets out his materials and, in a good will gesture, gives Lulu her own set of materials. Once at Madame Renard's, he finds he has trouble painting with his new glasses. It is only when he puts on his old, unfocused glasses that he is once again able to focus on the heart instead of the visual details. Madame Renard loves both of their paintings individually, exclaiming as Remy always has, “My eyesight is poor, you know, but my vision has always been clear!”

Remy and Lulu is written and illustrated by Kevin Hawkes, but the beautiful little miniatures are painted by Hannah E. Harrison (Extraordinary Jane), who paints such miniatures herself. The two artists (and I mean Remy and Lulu) offset each other nicely with their contrasting styles. Remy paints large, bold, abstracted images, while Lulu’s are meticulous and dainty, interpreting pets as gentlemen and ladies of another era. Of course there are themes of art and what it is and how it is made, but even if children don't pick up on that, there is a great deal to enjoy in this unique picture book.