Berrylicious

Verdammt! Jetzt Geht Das Schon Wieder Los! | Another Mrs. Berry Birthday Doodle

Deutsches Kauderwelsch mit dem Wort "Geburtstag", das geschickt in diesen unsinnigen Haufen von Wörtern und Buchstaben und so weiter eingefügt wurde.

Es ist ein weiteres Geburtstagskritzel im deutschen Stil* für Nutley (N.J.)s Mutter Nr. 1.

(*Der zuvor erläuterte Insider-Witz ist hier zu sehen.)

Kitty With Muffin Birthday Doodle

Another semi-super quick no-time-to-plan-out sketchy thing for a sister of a friend in NJ.

Happy "Lieber Gott! Nicht noch ein Inane Geburtstag Doodle!" Tag | Another Mrs. Berry Birthday Doodle

It's another German-themed* birthday doodle for Nutley(N.J.)'s #1 mom.

(* the previously-explained in-joke can be seen here.)

Beware The Birthday Banshee!

Originally penned in 2011, the Birthday Banshee creeps up to its victim on the night before his/her birthday, lights the Four Candles of the Birthdayocalypse atop of a clumsily-made baked slab, and eerily stares at said victim… and stares… and stares… and stares some more until he/she wakes up to an extraordinarily exhausted bloodshot (almost comatose) banshee at the foot of the bed - by that time, the long-extinguished candles would’ve burnt off the banshee’s birthday hat and created a new layer of candle wax over the baked slab. Happy Birthday.

Clyde, The Kitty Patriot | Another July 4th Toon Tribute

O ! say, can you see!!! Happy July 4th!

As a token of this special day, I present to you Uncle Sam in kitty form - portrayed by Clyde Michael.

Originally painted back in 2009 for my fan/friend in NJ - Clyde is her kitty cat afterall.

Around 2012, to pad out my illustration folio (being unemployed is a bitch; working for scraps as a freelancer is a “whoer”), I went back and tinkered with the original painting by extending the canvas and adding draped flags & floor.

Have A Happy Heart Tree Day | File This Under "Hodor"

Drawn at a time when there was a torrential downpour of Hodor memes (c.2014), I think I remember a “Happy Heart Tree Day” facebook post. That got me to doodling this piece:

The pair of clogs hung from the weirwood tree’s branch is another annoying in-joke (a’la facebook friends).

Or, if you’re a Game Of Thrones nutball and wanna try ‘n’ read some fandom theory as to why there’re clogs on one side and a paraplegic Bran Stark (with Hodor) is on the other… paralysis …. footwear… there’s some vicious ominous taunting analogy there…

Kitty Caricature | From The Abandoned Projects Drawer

As part of my mid-to-late-2009 personal deliberation, months after returning from a memorable 10-day expedition to the US (Nutley, NJ, to be exact) and brainstorming ways to make big wads of cash on the side in order to fly back there! I had nothing to sell, no savings, and let’s not forget the 2008/09 financial collapse (and keeping my job was up-in-the-air)… no chance of a sudden lottery win, I’m sure (although, I’d hoped. Boy, did I hope!). So, what am I to do?

Here’s just one loony idea I seriously thought I could master: iPhones were a new thing at that time - why not learn about app development, create an app, make money selling that app, and live high on the hog? Easy, I’m sure. Turns out… NO! IT’S NOT! YOU IDIOT!

I then turned to finding ways to monopolise skills I’d honed over the years… Starlog Magazine had folded (so, cash for my cartoons was out)… somehow, the idea of drawing people’s pets was floated by my fan/friend in NJ (to whom was a veterinary technician).

Long story short, the below painting was THE first Kitty Kature (yes, THAT was I called them)(patent [not]pending).

And here are a couple more. I signed these with my alternate pseudonym “furbawl”.

There are a few more, I’m sure, lurking away in a dusty hard drive somewhere in the closet. I remember drawing up dogs… anyways, I find ‘em, I’ll add them to this post

Dr. FuzzyButt's Medical Minute : Cat Breath

Got a fever? Persistent cough? Headache? Twitching Evil Eye? Hmmm… you should really give Dr. FuzzyButt a call. STAT!!!

Doodled this for the eldest sister of my official #1 fan/friend whom shared a pic of her visibly ill daughter with the family’s cat all snuggled up in there, either to (a) provide comfort, or (b) soak up the extra warmth radiating from the patient’s fever.

Dr. FuzzyButt’s Medical Minute : The Cat Breath Cure.

Occupied French Vanilla, Oreos and Citrus Surprises | Another Mrs. Berry Birthday Doodle

Once a year, I take up a pencil and draw up something speeshülly Germanian for the mother of my fan/friend in Nutley, NJ. To understand WHY I do this, it’s briefly explained it here.

Originally doodled May 18, 2013.

Happy Dreikäsehoch! | Another Mrs. Berry Birthday Doodle

Every May, going back to 2010, I cobble together a German-themed birthday illo for the mother of my fan/friend in New Jersey. Nope, they’re not German — but, they did take me to a German-themed restaurant in Hoboken for Mrs. Berry’s birthday get-together in 2009.

And that’s the (in)joke. Ahh, I guess you had to be there.

If you were wondering, “Happy Dreikäsehoch” translates to Three Cheese High.

Cheese has nothing to do with anything with relation to the person, the day, or the theme… I just needed a long, complicated, funny-sounding German-ish word (“Dreikäsehoch”) and this one fit the bill.

That’s supposed to be me (Bort) on the left. The sentient purple plush critter on the right is "Trunko”, an Ugly Dolls character I picked up at FAO Schwarz with Mrs. Berry in 2011… but I digress…

At left: this is the illustration without the “Happy Dreikäsehoch” titles. Yes, that’s THREE cheese slabs stacked in the background (re:translation).

Über Von Doodle-Strudel | The First Mrs. Berry Birthday Doodle

In 2009, after jokingly badgering me I had to fly from Melbourne (Australia) to New Jersey to visit my (then) newly found vet-tech fan, Karen… and flying to NJ to do just that a few months later… and after one of several guided tours of NYC, Karen (with me in tow)(#typicalaussietourist) wound up at a German-themed bistro/restaurant thingy in Hoboken for Mrs. Judy Berry’s birthday get-together.

The scene depicted below is NOT of that night... just a fun 1st Anniversary illo of (a) that birthday dinner in Hoboken and (b) the first of "Mrs. Berry's Birthday Doodles" yearly installments.

The cast of characters (from left to right): me (in picture frame); Carolyn (Karen's sister), Charlie (Carolyn's fiancee); waiter in stereotypical traditional German lederhosen; Amber (Carolyn's daughter); Karen (fan/"get your ass over to NJ" instigator); and Mrs. Judy Berry (birthday girl).

This illo was drawn digitally in 2010 and is littered with in-jokes for the time. I'd point out and explain each one -- but I don't wanna.