PRETTY GIRL ON THE C TRAIN LOCAL by Subwaysurfer

Saw this reallllly pretty girl on the C local train, and couldn't help making her look more interesting! LOL! It's always a challenge to do extreme caricature on the so called pretty face, because there is sometimes not a lot to grab onto , since the features are so pleasingly balanced. After a few minutes of looking, I did notice how ridiculously curly and long the hair was, how her lips jutted out ever so slightly, and how she had that "dull" expression. I really should have shown it o her just to get her reaction but might have risked her tearing it up!

THIS IS ACTUALLY AN OLD POST, BUT REALLY ONE OF MY FAVORITE CARICATURES. IT MARKS THE FIRST TIME I REALLY STARTED TAKING CHANCES WITH EXTREME EXAGGERATION AFTER A LOT OF STUDYING. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE NEVER SEEN THIS, ENJOY.


IF YOU ARE INTO EXTREME CARICATURE PORTRAITS LIKE THIS ONE, FEEL FREE TO COMMISSION ME TO GET ONE OF YOUR OWN! Prices are very affordable.

Subway Pencil Caricature portraits by Elgin Subwaysurfer Bolling

As much as I love to do gift caricatures digitally, I love the feel and look of a caricature done with my own hand in pencil. My approach to caricature drawing is not just for simple "party whimsy" but for fine art as well. This should come as no surprise, since caricature uses portraiture as a point of departure.

Let me create a beautiful pencil portrait caricature of you. Your love ones or for the someone who wants a unique personalized gift. Prices are affordable, and I am open, within reason to negotiation. Feel free to write me at
Cartoons4u2@aol.com
For more information.

Ebony Mohawk Boye on the B Train

I squeezed my way onto a Kings Highway bound B Train, late for an appointment with my wife, and now frustrated that I wasn't fast enough to get a seat for the long ride. It was then that I looked down at this passenger that brightened my mood a bit.
Here was this teenager talking excitedly with his friend on this crowded standing room only train eating Chinese food out of a large Styrofoam container. We have a saying in the city that goes like this: "How Ghetto can you be?" one thing that is definitely a social "no no" is eating a PLATE of food on public transportation. Its just "too common" Too low Class, but there he was. Like most youth his age, he didn't seem to care, and kept eating and talking as if he was home at his dinner table. His appearance caught my attention as much as his behavior. He had a beautiful ebony complexion like dark chocolate that shined. He also was sporting this outrageous Mohawk mane of black hair that looked like a horses mane. His hair was trimmed neatly on the sides , almost shaven but not quite. His face was long and his frame was long and lanky. I thought he would make a perfect character design for one of my comic projects, and although Im not accustomed to drawing standing up during rush hour , I quickly whipped out my drawing pad and got started. It was challenging to draw as the train swerved and swayed, with passengers bumping into me, and me trying to maintain my balance, all the while hoping that he would not stop to notice me. I completed a few preliminary sketches hoping that when I got back to the studio I would be able to recapture what I saw. My results were more than satisfactory, and I know that i will be going back to this character for future projects. Here he is drawn in semi realistic style using a tombo brush pen and pencil.

REMEMBER FOLKS, IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU SEE HERE, AND WOULD LIKE TO HAVE ME CREATE A CARICATURE OF YOU DRAWN IN  THIS BEAUTIFUL EXAGGERATED GRAPHITE STYLE, SEND ME AN E MAIL AT

cartoons4u2@aol.com

SUBWAY CARICATURES IN PEN AND INK

finally got a chance to do some subwaysurfing today to do some LIVE drawing. Cant wait to refine and post those for ya later in a coupla days. I did These Two live today at a gig. The first guy is affectionately nicknamed, "Pe Pe La Phew" by his coworkers, NOT becuase he smells like the Horny French Loony Tunes Skunk by the same name, but because he has a white streak of hair that stands out admist his sea of black hair. I asked him if it was a dyed job and he assured me that it wasnt. This was drawn on 8X11 cardstock from Staples, and drawn with a 0.7 Mechanical Pencil and Blending stomp.

The second lady was a flight attendant who has such an animated face that i did hers again from memory. Great drawing day! Ive been doing so many cartoons lately that i was wondering if I could still do these beautiful modeled drawings. looks like I got my answer. The kid's still got it!
She was drawn on 8X11 cardstock from Staples, and drawn a Black crayola Marker, and an Indigo Art Stixx.

Mr. James Shaw

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. James Shaw on the Manhattan bound A line some weeks back doing my usual subwaysurfing. We started off chatting about the weather, and in no time we became engrossed in conversation where we discussed politics, race relations, community affairs, jazz, and art. Mr. Shaw, 70 plus years old, looked years younger, and in a lot of ways reminded me of myself. He took off his hat at one point and showed off his RED hair which he proudly boased was natural and never went gray. I was delighted and amazed. His daughter, Janathel M. Shaw was a sculpture,whose most famous work, "Dead on Arrival" was featured on pg 163 of author, Judith Schwartz'sbook, "Confrontational Ceramics." I promised James I would mention this on the blog so it's a promise kept.
Mr. Shaw knew a lot about jazz and shared priceless stories about Miles Davis, Dizzy and Duke Ellington, and spoke about the glory days of Harlem. It was almost like being there. I did a couple of different sketches of him while we spoke not really satisfied with any of them, so I decided to post all of them here. I made sure that I gave him one of them as a gift which he folded carefully and put in his pocket. I also promised him that when it got warmeer I would check out one of the many free jazz fastivals that are played in the city. I hope to see him there.

Early morning sketch

I had to get up at 4am this morning to do a gig in the Bronx which is like going to a foreign country from where I'm currently living..... I did this morning sketch at around 6am of a fellow commuter who wasnt too happy about getting it, but too sleepy to care! The other sketch ( the one done in brown and yellow) is of a customer who stopped by my stand on Halloween. He had a great face and I redrew him from memory as soon as he left. Still using the colored pencils and im on my 2nd pack now.... gotta get MORE!

SUBWAY CARICATURES WWITH COLORED PENCIL by subwaysurfer

A train colored pencil sketches by subwaysurfer

Here are a few random sketches done on the Queens bound A train on the way home from my gig today at Debs Family Disco.

CARICATURE OF PRETTY GIRL ON THE C LOCAL TRAIN by subwaysurfer

Saw this reallllly pretty girl on the C local train, and couldn't help making her look more interesting! LOL! It's always a challenge to do extreme caricature on the so called pretty face, because there is sometimes not a lot to grab onto , since the features are so pleasingly balanced. After a few minutes of looking, I did notice how ridiculously curly and long the hair was, how her lips jutted out ever so slightly, and how she had that "dull" expression. I really should have shown it o her just to get her reaction but might have risked her tearing it up!

IF YOU ARE INTO EXTREME CARICATURE PORTRAITS LIKE THIS ONE, FEEL FREE TO COMMISSION ME TO GET ONE OF YOUR OWN! Prices are very affordable.