#38 - Broken Dreams - The Illustrations

Broken Dreams is illustrated by James O'Brien. Here we have Geraldine - the pug - at the feet of a man.  She approaches a few men in this story who are destroying Bartholomew's garden.  She is trying to scare them off, but she just isn't big and ferocious enough.

In my last entry about James, I mentioned that he was a real "great guy."  I've changed my mind..  James is a stupendous guy.  The other day, I found out that Charles Schulz (Peanuts - Charlie Brown and Snoopy) went to the College of Visual Arts, where Jim is the chair of the Illustration Department.   So I called him up and I said "I didn't know that Charles Schulz went to the College of Visual Arts."  To which he replied, "yep."  It may seem small, but it was a bit of an epiphany for me.

James is also a very accomplished illustrator (as witnessed by his illustration above and the one he created for What Will Be Will Be, story #29).  Besides The Book of Bartholomew, James has illustrated for several Fortune 500 companies and some of the biggest and most popular magazines and newspapers in the country. Here is James' website: http://illogator.com/jamesobrien/index.php?

Broken Dreams is published this Friday, March 9 at The Book of Bartholomew.

#38 - Broken Dreams - The Story

Broken Dreams is a story about how loss can drive us to action.  The destruction of Bartholomew's garden is part of the loss Geraldine feels as she can do nothing but witness.  But it is also the loss of Bartholomew, her best friend, that drives her to defend his garden.  It is the loss of Bartholomew that also brings Geraldine and Oliver, passive enemies, together.

Have you ever defended a friend?  At times it is not easy and can be scary. But if you won't fight for your friends, will you even fight for yourself?  It is by supporting other people that people then want to support each other.  The example, the action in the face of danger, can inspire or lead people to be kinder, more supportive.  And Bartholomew will never know the support his pets gave him in this situation.  He is not there and they cannot tell him.  Yet, they can, because their actions and attitudes toward him will change in light of supporting him when he is not around.  He will experience the change in them, and it will speak to him.  What would this world be if we just supported our friends more?  Even when they are not around.  What would our lives be like if we were dedicated to others, not because of a sense of duty, but because we understand we are less without them?

Here is an excerpt from Broken Dreams, to be published at The Book of Bartholomew on March 9, 2012:

That afternoon, while she napped on the front steps of Bartholomew’s house, a van pulled up to the garden. It was big and had all kinds of letters on the side. Out came two men. Geraldine was hoping one of them was Bartholomew. Seeing that neither was him, she went back to napping. They opened the back of the van and pulled out tall tripods and a couple of cases. The men looked over a map and then placed the tripods in the garden. From the cases they took instruments for measuring distances. For the next twenty minutes they took measurements throughout the garden and all the way to the railroad tracks. At times they would spray paint on the ground.

Geraldine was not liking the look of this and decided to go tell the two men. She ran down the street and barked at them. They turned around quickly to see what ferocious beast was going to attack them, and then they laughed and continued working. Geraldine got within a couple of feet of one of them and barked as loud and a fast as she could. He paid no attention to her. She went to bark at the other man, but he just turned and walked farther away with his equipment. Geraldine was not happy that they were ignoring her. She went right up to one man and barked only inches from his shoe. He looked wary for a moment but then continued his work. Geraldine began to panic a little bit. Why weren’t they stopping what they were doing? She felt a little helpless and didn’t know what else to do, so she mounted the man’s leg and began to hump.

Now the man paid attention.

“Get off me,” the man said as he shook his leg. Geraldine did not let go. He reached down and grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and yanked her off his leg.

“What should we do with this, Charlie?” asked the man to the other.

“Put it in the van,” said Charlie.

The man threw Geraldine into the back of the van, slammed the door shut and went back to his work. Ten more minutes went by without a sound from the men. Geraldine was alert. She was alert and ready for anything. With her heightened senses she smelled something, something tunafish-like. She found a brown bag just behind one of the seats. It smelled like tunafish sandwiches, an apple and potato chips. She was about to dig in to it and eat it, but decided instead to pee on it instead.

Meanwhile, the men outside finished measuring the edge of the railroad property and marked it on the ground. They called another crew to tell them they were finished. Five minutes later, Geraldine heard another vehicle drive up. The men discussed some things about the markings on the ground that identified railroad property and then she heard loud noises. The new crew started up their weed whips and brush cutters. A couple of men removed all of the wire cages and solid objects and then the others started walking through the garden and mowing it down.

Mr. McBarden’s plot, which had already been cut down by the police because he had been growing marijuana, was trimmed even lower and his hedge removed. Bits of red tomato whipped through the air and splattered the men’s pants. Carrots and beets were sliced in half as the men dug them up. Lettuces, green onions, herbs and radishes were cut to a nub. And Bartholomew’s beautiful towering kale fell mangled and distorted like a broken body. What wasn’t completely cut to the ground was tromped on by the men’s boots – smashed back into the ground from which it came. If that weren’t enough, the men then sprayed the garden with an herbicide. Some of the liquid death drifted to the part of the garden not on railroad property. Their work was thorough and complete.

About two thirds of the garden was on railroad property. When the men were finished, that part of the garden looked like a pile of weeds. The part of the garden not on railroad property had been trampled by the workers and didn’t look much better than the rest. The railroad company left the pile of plants where it lay. It didn't matter if it was a mess, they just didn’t want someone growing a garden on their property. In reality, they didn’t really mind someone growing a garden on this piece property, but the owner of the railroad owed Gerald a favor.

#37 - The Garden Exposed - The Story

The Garden Exposed is a short sweet story about the relationship between Bartholomew and Geraldine the dog.  Like any classic relationship; Antony and Cleopatra, Luke and Laura, Linus and Sally or Kermit and Miss Piggy, Bartholomew and his pug end up having an effect on each other.  Geraldine's tendency to hump legs and objects has waned in the light of Bartholomew's attention.  Bartholomew's appreciation of life has increased by having to tend to another living being every day.  Yes, Bartholomew has Oliver, but Oliver is not open to change.  He assumes Bartholomew is not able to teach him anything.  But Oliver is a cat.

I often wonder the effect the people I am closest to have on me.  I want to be changed by those closest to me.  What is the point if we are not?  How does a best friend, someone you can't wait to talk with almost every day, changed how you see your day?  Often, when we are younger, we have more intense relationships with friends because our hormones are racing and we are thrown together into a schoolbox for most of the day.  When I was a teenager, my best friend was also named Mark.  We lived near each other, were in many classes together and hung out at each other's houses every day.  I was aware that we breathed the same air, shared the same thoughts and lived a life together.  Although we haven't seen each other in twenty years, it is obvious that I am who I am today because of him.

My daughter definitely is changing me, almost daily.  These changes are almost beyond comprehension for me they are so subtle and constant, like adding one more piece of paper to a stack everyday.  Now fifteen years later, I can't remember placing any particular piece of paper on the stack, but in front of me is a pile of paper that rises above my head.  Are we open to letting people change us?  It is hard.  We are so driven to achieve our own individual goals we don't always take the time to really know somebody and let them in.  Let someone in today.

Here is an excerpt from The Garden Exposed, to be published at The Book of Bartholomew on February 24:

For her part, Geraldine had become more content having a home with Bartholomew. With regular attention she has become less needy. It has been quite a remarkable change. Many of Bartholomew’s friends can’t believe the difference, and some of them still call her Hump-Pug. Bartholomew discourages this whenever he can.

For Bartholomew, having the little companion has been satisfying. The moment he saved her from falling out of the tree in his backyard, Bartholomew came to know a quiet and appreciative side of Geraldine. He also appreciates a pet that will spend time with him in the garden. Oliver is not interested in gardening.

For Oliver this dog has been an adjustment. He does not like sharing his “animal space” with another. He also is not happy with Bartholomew’s affections going elsewhere. But Oliver’s concerns have been mitigated because Bartholomew still does whatever his cat tells him and Hump-Pug (that is what Oliver still calls Geraldine) has not been intrusive. Geraldine is happy to have her own space and not go near Oliver (who is bigger than her and has claws.) All in all, Oliver and Geraldine have worked out their differences. This has pleased Bartholomew greatly because, at the moment, all of his friends are mad at each other and he has been left alone to tend the garden. His Uncle Jeffrey and Aunt Josephine help at times, but they have been on a lot of weekend trips to their cabin.

The sun shone all summer and made the vegetables abundant. This really was the perfect spot to put a garden. Lots of sunshine, water from Mr. McBarden’s hose and near to Bartholomew’s home. The garden was his solace. His friends had come together over the garden, and the summer had been filled with many satisfying conversations while planting, weeding, harvesting and eating. Although the garden was now just his, Bartholomew was pleased with the outcome. His life was richer and healthier. What more could he ask for?

Geraldine, after running ahead of Bartholomew, would run back to him jump onto his leg with her front paws and then run away again; always taking off, always checking in. Sometimes she would chase away a snake or a squirrel. She liked to bark at birds and even the occasional large insect. When a large train would come by she would sometimes run away or sometimes defend her ground. But still, once in awhile, she would mount a log, a tree, a rake, a tomato cage, a telephone pole, etc.

“Oh, Geraldine,” said Bartholomew, “I’m so happy you’re here gardening with me. I miss my friends. I don’t know why they have to be so mad at each other.”

Normally, when Bartholomew talked to his cat Oliver, Oliver responded by sharing his wisdom and experience. Geraldine was different. When Bartholomew talked to her, she just looked at him with her tongue out and waited for him to say the word “food.” It quickly became apparent to Bartholomew that discussions with Geraldine are one way. He picked up a carrot and threw it. Geraldine gave chase. She took it in her mouth but, not liking the taste, very quickly dropped it and pranced back to Bartholomew. This time he picked up a stick and threw it. The stick landed near Mr. McBarden’s plot of vegetables. A brown blur of fur missed the stick and crashed through Mr. McBarden’s perimeter hedge. Bartholomew waited for the pug to return. She didn’t.

Bartholomew started this garden with the help of old Mr. McBarden, his neighbor. Although he was a bit cranky, Mr. McBarden had been helpful when dealing with property line issues and letting the gardeners use water from his house. When divvying up the plots, Mr. McBarden insisted on having the furthest plot and planting a hedge around it. He said the hedge would keep the vermin out. He seemed a little old and a little kooky so everyone let him have what he wanted. Bartholomew had seen his neighbor watering the garden and tending to his plot, but he had never peered over Mr. McBardon’s hedge to see what he was growing. And now Geraldine had disappeared behind the hedge.

“Geraldine, come!” commanded Bartholomew. No response.

“Geraldine! Come here, girl. C’mon!” Nothing.

Bartholomew began to worry a little bit, “Geraldine?”

Maybe she was just busy humping something in Mr. McBarden’s plot Bartholomew thought.

“Geraldine? C’mon. Come here.”

#36 - I've Come to Say I'm Going - The Illustrations

The illustration for I've Come to Say I'm Going were created by Liz Carlson.  Liz is an artist and illustrator living in Saint Paul, MN. She was suggested to me as an illustrator by Tim Jennen, her partner and illustrator of Bartholomew and the Cabana Fire.  Tim was not Liz's partner when he illustrated Cabana Fire... and now he is.  Now, I don't want to overplay this aspect of The Book of Bartholomew, but it does bring people together.  Yes, its true, The Book of Bartholomew is for lovers.  For example, observe Liz's illustration.

It is obvious that the characters in The Book of Bartholomew are extremely attractive.  Full hair, pouty lips, vibrating eyes, beautiful skin and well formed hands are the hallmarks of a Bartholomew character. They are all upbeat and excited about life - and excited to find that special someone.  Bartholomew found, not only, the heavenly The Nanny, but also the devilishly sexy Geraldine.  Claire? Well, what is sexier than chickens?  Charlotte and Topping - hubba hubba.  Aunt Josephine and Uncle Jeffrey are the counterpoint that makes "hot" seem even "hotter."

Of course, they are all stylish as well.  This is obvious from the shoes they wear and the purse The Nanny carries.  This is also true of the artists and readers of The Book of Bartholomew.  They are all amazing specimens of the best human culture can provide: beautiful, glossy pin-up people you would die to be with.

Yes, our artists are amazing.  Liz has the most penetrating blue eyes you will ever see (this is true).  And those eyes have a way of penetrating the human spirit.  Here, the beautiful The Nanny comes to tell a depressed (depression is only for dramatic effect with Bartholomew characters, artists and readers) Bartholomew that she must leave him.  Bartholomew has just lost all of his friends and his family.  The Nanny was all he had.  Liz let's The Nanny's heavy words lay in a murderous cloud of red.  The lack of color in the environment reflects the lack of life in Bartholomew's heart.  His stylishly slumping nature portrays his desire to become a puddle on the floor.  The cupcakes in front of him taunt him.  They dare him to take pleasure in them knowing that he will taste nothing, he is in such dire straights.  Yet, there is hope.  The message from this angel before Bartholomew tells of a future, a wondrous ending.  The twining vine on Bartholomew's chair hints that all is not lost.  Life can again become full of beauty, passion and love.  Yes, Liz has dissected Bartholomew's soul to its most essential point: life sucks but it will get better.  It makes my eyes wet, my nose rims with mucus, my throat chokes back my humanity.  Thank you , Liz, for reminding me that the world of Bartholomew is one of beauty, within the book, within the community that has created Bartholomew and within the larger community of fandom.  God bless, you Liz.  God bless you one and all.

I've Come to Say I'm Going will be published tomorrow, Friday, February 13, 2012.  If you want love in your life, I urge you to read it.

#36 - I've Come to Say I'm Going - The Story

I've Come to Say I'm Going was one of the funnest stories to write in the entire Book of Bartholomew.  The title is in reference to a song (Hello, I Must Be Going) sung by Groucho Marx in the movie Animal Crackers.  Here is a clip of it.

In I've Come to Say I'm Going, Bartholomew meets up with The Nanny, his only friend willing to hang with him.  Bartholomew's friend's had all left him after a disastrous dinner at his house (see Harvest Dinner). At least he has The Nanny.  Oops!  Oh,well.  As it is with Bartholomew, even in the darkest times he learns something important.  At this moment when he is all alone, or about to be, he realizes why he has been a sucker for salesmen.  He realizes why it has been so hard for him to make a decisions.  And this, will eventually lead to a most important revelation in the final story of the book.

Here is an excerpt from I've Come To Say I'm Going which will be published on February 13, 2012:

Bartholomew got up from his chair and went to the counter. The barista offered several options of muffins. They all looked tasty to Bartholomew, and being a little confused, he bought five muffins. Bartholomew had a habit, after his parents died, of buying more things than he needed. That’s why he has twelve phones, eight toasters and three televisions. As he walked back to the table with five muffins, four of which he knew he wouldn’t eat, he realized that when he’s confused he has a hard time making decisions. He was so confused and in a daze after his parents died that he couldn’t decide what to buy when offered several options. Thus, he ended up with twelve phones, eight toasters and three televisions. Bartholomew also realized that he hadn’t had this problem since Charlotte and Topping’s New Years Eve party where he made several friends and decided to start a garden.

“By golly,” he thought as he placed the muffins on the table where The Nanny was waiting, what he wanted had come true: he wanted friends who could help him make better decisions. He figured this would happen by discussing decisions with his friends but, in fact, they seldom talked about making decisions. His friends helped him make better decisions simply because he knew they were there. They were an anchor, and their support made him more confident and more able in his own life. And now they were all scattered and mad at each other – all except this beautiful woman sitting across the table from him.

“Bartholomew, I have to leave you,” blurted out The Nanny as soon as he sat down. “I have to leave you, but someone else is coming who will make you happy, even happier than you are now.”

It wouldn’t be hard to make Bartholomew happier than he was at that moment.

“Why?” he asked like a lump.

“Situations are almost where they need to be. You are going to have to make it the rest of the way on your own. I’ve done all I can to prepare you.”

“Prepare me for what?”

“Hard times.”

“Do you know about Xavier wanting to kill me?” asked Bartholomew.

“Yes, but he won’t. But he will destroy something you love and he will hurt the ones you love the most.”

“How can you possibly know this?” Bartholomew asked raising his voice. “How can you possible expect me to sit here and listen to this when someone wants to kill me? I come to you with my concerns and you pretend you can see into the future, like you’re some seer or something. What I need is for you to help me!”

Without saying a word, The Nanny stood up and walked behind Bartholomew. She wrapped her arms around him and placed her chin on his shoulder. Bartholomew instantly felt a warmth and peace move through his body.

#35 - Mo and the Tree of Want - The Story

Since the beginning of this project, I have been very aware of the influence of fairy tales and folk stories in my writing about Bartholomew and his friends.  At times I stick very close to typical formats of folk tales: things come in threes, characters become stereotyped or simplified, there is an emotional aspect to the story that is acted out, and oddities and peculiarities do not have to be explained.  At times I swerve away from these techniques or try to make them more subtle.  In Mo and the Tree of Want I return to blatant fairy tale format.  Mo is a bit slow and dimwitted, unexplained things happen, and Mo is acting out his desires.  AND... there is a moral to the story.  It's not spelled out but fairly obvious.

This incident with Mo also puts in motion events that lead us to the end of The Book of Bartholomew.  Yes, this is story number 34.  There are only 14 more stories after this one.  Mo and the Tree of Want will be published on January 27, 2012.  Here is an excerpt:

Mo peered through one more window and saw Hump-Pug blankly staring back at him. For a moment Mo thought he saw something else in the window, something shiny and gold. It took him a moment to realize it was a reflection. He assumed it was from one of his many rings or necklaces or maybe his gold tooth. But the reflection seemed to be something else. He looked behind him at a gigantic old tree in Bartholomew’s back yard. There in the lower branches was a shiny gold object.

He went to the tree. He grabbed hold of the first branch and pulled himself up. It was dark out and Mo was afraid of heights, but he had to see what this was. It was a rather easy tree to climb with branches at even intervals as far up as he could see in the dark. He only had to climb three or four branches before he was at his destination: a small mesh bag of gold pieces. Mo thought that this was an odd, but fortuitous, placement of a bag of gold pieces. There were eight to ten pieces in the bag, which was heavy for its size. Mo unhooked it from the branch and put it in his pocket. “How lucky I am,” he thought.

He started down the tree but caught a glimpse of something else in the corner of his eye. It was another shiny object much bigger and much further up the tree. “Hmmm,” Mo thought, “that one is much higher. I don’t like heights. I better let it go. But… it is much bigger than this little bag in my pocket. It must be worth much more than this.” Because Mo wanted wealth more than anything else, especially wealth that took little effort, Mo climbed on.

The branches were easy to reach until he was about twenty-five feet off the ground. Suddenly, Mo wasn’t sure how to proceed. He made a few attempts at the higher branches, but, being afraid of falling, didn’t try anything difficult. One branch was almost in his grasp. He could touch it with his fingers, feel the ridges of its bark, but couldn’t quite get a hold of it. In the trunk of the tree was a bump, a canker, that if he put his foot on it, maybe he could reach the branch. But it would mean letting go of the tree with both of his hands. He panicked a moment at the thought and held close to the tree.

“Xavier would think I was such a woos for not trying,” thought Mo. “I can do this. I know I can.” Then with all his adrenalin pumping, he stepped on the canker and swung his arms upward. It worked. His hands grabbed around the branch and then he scampered up. “Well, Mo ain’t no woos after all,” he said to an Xavier who wasn’t there. He rested on the branch for a moment and then continued his ascent.

Mo reached the next object a few minutes later. It hung in a large mesh bag tightly tied to a branch. It was impossible to untie the bag from the branch, so Mo pulled the very heavy gold object out of the bag. It was a vest made of gold chainmail. Mo estimated it weighed about forty pounds. “What the heck?” said Mo as he pondered this object being hung so high in the tree. It looked like it was his size, so he wrapped his legs around the branch and he very carefully tried it on. It was a little small and he almost fell when his elbows were stuck in the arm holes. It was so small, in fact, that once he had it on he couldn’t get it off.

“Crap!” said Mo.

Resigned to wearing the golden vest, Mo began to climb down. He went very slowly, worried about the added weight. “How lucky I am,” he thought as he knew the golden vest would be worth a fortune. Then he caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye. It was something a bit higher up in the tree. From the glimmer of moonlight he could see that it was something encrusted with jewels. He could see green sapphires, red rubies and clear bright diamonds – lots of diamonds. This one object alone would be worth more than all the gold Mo had found thus far.

“Crap,” said Mo.

#34 - The Eve of Destruction - The Illustrations

The illustrations for Eve of Destruction, the 34th story in The Book of Bartholomew, are by local Twin City artist, illustrator and indie publisher Meghan Murphy Suszynski. She and two friends, in August of 2009, began the uber-hot, sassy and sexy lit magazine Paper Darts.  For Eve of Destruction, she created this wonderful illustration of Xavier and his MG Roadster his father gave him.

I love the sense of falling in this piece. I wrote to Meghan that the circular-revolving feel of this piece makes me want to animate it.  Or print it on a plate and then twirl that plate on top of a stick. I also like the dapperness of Xavier with his vest, striped pants and patent-leather shoes. Xavier is not a slob.  Khua is.  I like the thought that Xavier, though a bully, has a sense of style.

As is the way of Bartholomew, different artists can have different ideas of what the characters in The Book of Bartholomew look like.  I use this approach to the project because I think everyone who reads the stories probably has a different image in their head about the characters.  One representation might capture your image better than another.  Here are other representations of Xavier by artists Matt Wells and Justin Terlecki.

Eve of Destruction will publish this Friday, January 13, 2012at The Book of Bartholomew.

#34 - The Eve of Destruction - The Story

One right of passage is when a young person decides on something they want to do with their life and wants to ask their parent for help.  No, not just ask for money, but actually want to use the skills and talents of their parent because it will make things better.  When I turned twenty-four, I had an idea that I wanted to... When I was twenty-five, I asked my father... I actually can't think of a time like this in my life, but I'm sure it happens.

In The Eve of Destruction, Xavier wants his father, Gerald, to help him hatch a plot to destroy Bartholomew's garden.  The Nanny, on the other hand, is trying to persuade Xavier to partake in better and more positive activities, like looking for his lost sister.  This story again visits Xavier's need for some kind of rush or excitement to keep him happy, satiated.  Boredom is not to be tolerated.  If you become bored, you might actually start thinking about yourself and having feelings.  Xavier is a psychopath in training.  Would it be better if he followed The Nanny or his father?

Here is an excerpt from The Eve of Destruction which will be published on January 13, 2012:

“Xavier?” a voice surprised him. It was The Nanny.

“What do you want?”

“Xavier, why such a harsh voice? I just wanted to know what you are up to today.”

“Nothing, nothing at all,” he said trying to sound more casual.

“Good, I was wanting some help with…”

“I’m busy,” interrupted Xavier.

“I thought you just said you were doing ‘nothing,’” said The Nanny.

“Did I? I meant I’m doing… something,” said Xavier.

“You are? What are you doing then?” asked The Nanny patiently.

“Eh… nothing. Nothing that concerns you. What are you doing?” Xavier replied.

The Nanny looked at him suspiciously. “I am going to look for Geraldine. Care to help me?”

Xavier, whose sister had been missing for five months, was startled to hear her name for the second time in two days. “The police haven’t found her and my father’s people haven’t found her. What do you think you can do?”

“I know her better than them. I know she’s out there. She’s out there right now getting the life that she needs, the life she deserves. You wouldn’t even recognize her, but when she comes back you are going to be surprised. She is going to be beautiful and at peace and have a happy ever-after life.”

Xavier’s face folded-up in disbelief at The Nanny’s words. “What the hell are you talking about?! Have you gone looney?!”

“Now, Xavier, you should trust me more instead of only trusting yourself – and trusting Khua to beat people up for you. I know that you want to be happy and at peace, too. You let this need for excitement get in your way. Hurting people and planning their destruction might be exciting, on some level, but its not going to make your life better. You can break this addiction you have. It only draws you away from people, away from yourself. Please Xavier, come help me find your sister, your own flesh and blood.”

Xavier had known The Nanny for quite a long time. He found her curious in the way she would suddenly say things that went right to his soul. It seemed to Xavier that The Nanny would spend a lot of time with Geraldine and barely pay attention to him, Khua and Mo. Then, out of the blue, she would say something to them that proved him wrong. She had been paying attention to them – so much attention that her words would penetrate their violent and addictive world. This was one of those times.

#33 - Harvest Dinner - The Illustrations

I'm doing something I haven't done before when it comes to the illustrations for Harvest Dinner:  I am using images I've used previously.  Until now, every story I have illustrated for The Book of Bartholomew has been a new and unique creation.  In fact, each story I've illustrated seems to be in a completely different style than the previous one.

page 1 - Bartholomew Makes a Decision

Page 1 _ Harvest Dinner

As I was painting the image for the cover of this story, I felt like it was similar to the image I painted for the very first story, Bartholomew Makes a Decision.  This made me think that I should also play off of the images on the pages, but do them a bit different than before.  There are a lot of similar elements in these stories.  Both are about a meal.  The first is Bartholomew eating alone and the second is with his family and friends.  Both meals get interrupted.  So, there should be similar pages.  Here, you will see an example from Bartholomew Makes a Decision and then one from Harvest Dinner:

I am also busy finishing up the last stories in this book.  As I am doing this, I am becoming aware of the need to bring certain early elements back into the stories so that a sense of closure will happen by the end.  In similar fashion, I am thinking how to bring closure visually to the illustrations that have appeared throughout this book.  For the last several stories I will be going back to some of the artists who have been involved in this project and give them more specific assignments in order to bring this about.

I am frantically trying to complete the cover illustration of a wok full of vegetables.  The story is to be published Friday morning and I still have a little ways to go.  Vegetables in a wok?

More food paintings?

Yes, they make a stir fry of vegetables they harvested from the garden.  Well, here is the Harvest Dinner illustration almost done:

Here is the cover illustration for Bartholomew Makes a Decision:

Here is the final cover for Harvest Dinner:

Harvest Dinner is published this Friday, December 30, 2011 at The Book of Bartholomew.

#33 - Harvest Dinner - The Story

In the story Harvest Dinner, the garden has produced enough food that Bartholomew, his family, and friends can sit down to a dinner.  This is what Bartholomew had been working for since New Years.  But why is it that holidays and special events bring out the strife in people.  Dinner becomes a fight between Topping and Charlotte, this exacerbates the problems between Claire and Ned, which leads to Bartholomew arguing with Uncle Jeffrey.  Oh boy!  No one is happy.

It makes me think of a group of friends I once had.  We were all couples and no one couple was the center of the group.  But there was one couple that seemed the strongest, the healthiest in their relationship.  To everyone's surprise, the relationship was not as healthy on the inside as it appeared on the outside.  When that relationship fell apart there was a domino effect.  Other relationships fell apart, if not completely, at least to some degree.  What happens when our role models fail us?  If a relationship isn't healthy and the couple can't pull it together, then it should be ended.  But, there will be consequences, not only for the couple, but their friends, too.

It is sad.  For Bartholomew, he had finally pulled together some friends and his family to create a wonderful garden.  It was now time to eat of the fruits of their labor and to celebrate.  But no.  That damned Mayor Dick!  He's always getting in the way.

Here is an excerpt from Harvest Garden, to be published on December 30, 2011:

Bartholomew returned to the kitchen – he didn’t want to hear any more of this argument. He knew how it was going to end. He helped Aunt Josephine chop more of the vegetables he and Claire had harvested from the garden. She was going to stir fry the broccoli, tomatoes and herbs and place it on a bed of rice. She didn’t quite have the instinctual way of putting together flavors that Bartholomew’s mom did, but Aunt Josephine did know just how long to cook things to bring out their best flavors. Bartholomew was happy. He was eating food he had grown and thought was tasty and he was with his family and friends.

Voices grew louder. Aunt Josephine and Bartholomew looked at each other wondering what was going on in the living room. Suddenly there was yelling. They went to see what was the cause of this.

Charlotte and Topping were yelling at each other. This seemed incomprehensible to Bartholomew. He was so shocked by this turn of events that he didn’t really hear what they were yelling about. Charlotte began to cry and ran out the front door. Claire followed Charlotte, hitting Topping in the shoulder as she passed. “Idiot!”

Bartholomew gawked at Topping, waiting for some kind of explanation. He didn’t get one. Bartholomew looked at Ned who just shrugged his shoulders.

“Is dinner ready?” asked Uncle Jeffrey.

“Yes…I guess so,” said Aunt Josephine, who retreated to the kitchen to bring out the food.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” said Bartholomew as he went outside to see what was up with Charlotte and Claire. He saw them in the garden at the end of his street huddled together on the logs in the gathering area. He walked over and put his hand on Charlotte’s shoulder. She was still crying.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Sometimes… he makes me… so mad,” Charlotte said between the sobs. “He just acts… like my opinion… doesn’t mean anything.”

“Guys can be like that,” assured Claire. Bartholomew thought this was an unhelpful statement. In his experience, both men and women can behave in lots of ways. And besides, he thought he was the kind of guy who cares and he knew that Topping loved Charlotte.

“It’s just makes me mad… that we have lived together…for over a year and he still can be so… dismissive of me,” sobbed Charlotte.

Bartholomew began carefully, “I didn’t hear what was said, but I do know Topping loves you. He just makes mistakes sometimes.”

“Mistakes?” began Claire, “He’s so focused on himself he doesn’t know what Charlotte is doing half the time. Just because he’s your friend doesn’t mean you have to defend him.”

Bartholomew thought Claire, again, made an unhelpful statement. Of course Bartholomew is going to defend his friends. He would defend both Charlotte and Claire as well as Topping and Ned. He also knew that Topping did care about what Charlotte was doing, although he tended to focus on what was in front of him at the moment.

“Mistakes are fine,” said Charlotte recovering from her sobs. “I’m just tired of him not learning from his mistakes. I don’t know how many times I have told him to call or to let me know where he is or that I want to spend time with him and he forgets or ends up doing something else.”

“Why don’t you come back in for dinner and you two can talk this out later?” asked Bartholomew.

“No!” replied Charlotte. “I don’t want to talk anymore. I’m not going back in there.”

“C’mon, you can stay at my place tonight,” offered Claire.

Bartholomew didn’t think this offer was very helpful. Charlotte and Topping should be together and try to work this out. Separating wasn’t going to help. A bit exasperated with Claire’s three unhelpful comments, Bartholomew added, “You mean Ned’s place.”

Claire got an angry look on her face and punched Bartholomew in the shoulder. “I’ve been living there seven months! It’s my place, too!” Claire and Charlotte got up and walked to Claire’s bicycle. Charlotte sat on the seat and Claire stood up and pedaled.

Tree of Want - The Illustrations

I have waited sooooooooooo long to share this illustration.  I actually created this illustration of the tree in Bartholomew's backyard for the very first story.  It is the first official illustration I did for The Book of Bartholomew.  Now, thirty one stories and fourteen months later I am finally able to show this to you.

I originally was trying to fit Bartholomew's small house in the image, but eventually took it out.  I really enjoy playing with detail and distance.  This illustration, created with watercolor and ink, portrays the far away leaves being large clumps of leaves.  As the leaves get closer to the viewer, more detail is visible.

I also had fun making Oliver, Bartholomew's cat.  I tried him in a few different positions and settled on him looking right up at the viewer.

But, this is now the illustration for Tree of Want, which will be published tomorrow, Friday, December 2.  So I had to change it slightly to work for the new story.  In Tree of Want, Bartholomew has to climb a tree to save Oliver, Henrietta the chicken and Hump-Pug who are all stuck at different heights.  So, in the final I created an illustration of Hump-Pug and slipped it into the tree illustration I had created so long ago.

And THAT is the story of this illustration.  I am so happy you finally get to see it.
Who ever can identify this tree by its leaves (genus and species) will win a mini-book!

Tree of Want - Published Today!

Tree of Want is published today!  It is the 31st story in The Book of Bartholomew.  Written and illustrated by Mark Granlund, Bartholomew has to climb a tree to rescue Oliver the Cat, Henrietta the Chicken and Hump-Pug.  In the process he just might find what he really wants.