Ballester, Arnal
His friends call him Arnal, and everyone else, Mr. Ballester.
He is tall, although he is only getting shorter. He is wide, and possibly only getting wider. He is long, although not enough.
He was born in Barcelona in 1955, which is as significant as being born in Rangoon in 1932; so, not at all. Almost nothing.
He sometimes draws for money because he has to make a living. But he prefers to draw for pleasure, because he prefers living well rather than just living.
He has illustrated children’s books (we have counted more than forty) and he has even received some awards for them, which have been delivered by the postman all crumpled up. He has also made illustrations for grown ups. He says that he cannot see a difference, because grown ups behave less and less like adults, and children soon stop being children.
Arnal Ballester has the intention of abandoning everything at the age of 101 because he loves symmetry. Perhaps he will succeed.