Bronx native artist on his subway art series and rise on TikTok
Left and right photos courtesy of Devon Rodriguez, center via Instagram/Devon Rodriguez
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, A BTR PR. 16-22, 2021 39
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
A New York City artist
is blowing up online
for his hand-drawn subway
portraits.
Devon Rodriguez was
always interested in art.
The Bronx native’s father
was a tattoo artist,
and Rodriguez says the
interest in art was always
there for him.
“I always loved art
my entire life,” said Rodriguez.
“My dad was
a tattoo artist — he left
when I was 3, but I always
knew of him as
an artist. It was a natural
passion, I drew my
entire life. When I was
around 11-12, I got into
graffi ti because that’s
what I saw my friends
doing in the Bronx.”
Rodriguez’s adventures
in graffi ti ultimately
got him arrested
when he was 13 years
old. After that experience,
Rodriguez says
he started to shift gears
in his art because he
started growing an interest
in portraits.
“My teacher taught
portraits in oil, and I
got really into it. Ever
since, I started to take
realism and portraiture
very seriously,” said Rodriguez.
“I always loved
portraits, I thought they
were incredible as a kid.
People are drawing like
they are photos, I didn’t
know it was attainable.”
Rodriguez initially
applied for the High
School of Art and Design
in Manhattan in 2010,
but was not accepted. He
then attended Samuel
Gompers High School
in the Bronx, where he
built up his portfolio to
tray and give the High
School of Art and Design
another shot.
“I told my art teacher,
Jeremy Harper, I didn’t
want to be there. He
asked to see my portfolio,
and said ‘Of course
you didn’t get in, it’s not
diverse enough.’ He was
the fi rst art teacher that
was tough with criticism,”
said Rodriguez.
“He told me that he was
going to help me to reapply
and teach me everything
I needed to know. I
got accepted the second
time, and when I transferred
there, I met my
painting teacher.”
During his time at
the High School of Art
and Design, Rodriguez
built up a portfolio of
subway portraits, painting
straphangers and
passersby on their daily
commutes as a part of
his senior concentration.
Rodriguez also began
to do portrait commissions
on the side,
building a following online
and expanding his
portfolio further.
Upon graduating
high school, Rodriguez
enrolled in the Fashion
Institute of Technology
(FIT). However, Rodriguez
found that his time
was not best suited in
the world of academia,
especially with his commission
work picking up
more steam.
“There were a lot of
kids at FIT who never
went to an art high
school, they decided to
go because they love
art. There were a lot of
foundation courses that
I thought I was passed,
I was very bored,” said
Rodriguez. “I was already
getting portrait
commissions by then
and the commissions
took up so much time. I
was getting paid for artwork,
and getting grades
for art I made at school
— I couldn’t balance
both. I thought, why am
I in school if I can make
it without school?”
Rodriguez says that
he kept trying to stay in
school to get the degree
but ultimately dropped
out, knowing that if he
ever needed the degree
he can go back and earn
it.
“I was 18 or 19 when
I dropped out, and it’s
been fun ever since,”
said Rodriguez.
Rodriguez spent his
years after dropping
out dividing his time
between commission
work and painting New
York City’s subway riders.
Though he loves doing
the subway paintings,
Rodriguez says it
became more of a passion
project and the fi nished
projects were not
guaranteed to sell, so he
picked up more commissions
to pay the bills.
However, once the
pandemic hit New York
City Rodriguez found
himself just doing commissions
because he
couldn’t ride the subway
anymore. Once restrictions
started to ease, Rodriguez
made his way
back to the subways once
again, but this time, his
art was doing more than
just creating a piece that
was just a snapshot of
someone’s day.
“When things
calmed down, it was a
no-brainer,” said Rodriguez.
“Now that everyone
is wearing a mask,
it was so obvious. It
would capture a moment
in history.”
Rodriguez started
incorporating New
Yorkers wearing masks
into his art, which he
would post on social
media. Though he already
has a solid Instagram
following, Rodriguez
started to post his
work and behind the
scenes of painting his
pieces on TikTok, with
not as much success.
“I started posting
commissions and
me painting on Tik-
Tok, none of it went viral,”
said Rodriguez. “I
started to learn how to
edit to make the videos
better, but I wouldn’t
get that many views.
Once I was fi nally done
with commissions, I fi gured
I can make more
subway stuff and post
everything on TikTok.”
Rodriguez decided
to experiment with his
content, taking a small
sketchbook with him
onto the train and drawing
his fellow riders.
@ d e v o n r o d r i -
guezartHe had no idea!
##drawing ##tiktokart
##nyc ##fyp ##foryoupage
Up Beat (Married
Life) – Kenyi
“The fi rst one I did,
I didn’t want to wait,”
said Rodriguez. “I did
it in a little sketchbook.
I posted it on TikTok
and it got millions of
views. I’ve been passionate
about this for years.
I kept the pandemic series
going, and it has
been going viral ever
since. That really blew
everything up for me.”
Rodriguez has built
an audience of 14 million
followers on TikTok,
plus 2 million on Instagram
and over 707,000
on YouTube, where he
posts clips of his Tik-
Toks and his subjects’
reactions to their drawing.
Rodriguez is grateful
for the following
he has gained because
it helped him start to
make bigger moves in
his life and career.
“My entire life
changed. I was at the
gym one day and someone
recognized me,”
said Rodriguez. “A
woman came up to me
in Union Square and
said I was one of her biggest
inspirations. I had
a friend introduce me to
some of his friends, and
when I said I paint people
on the subway, they
said they saw me on
TikTok or Instagram.
My income went up dramatically,
I moved from
the South Bronx fi nally.
I’m at 14 million on Tik-
Tok and 2 million on Instagram,
I never would
have thought this would
happen in my entire
life.”
For more information
about Rodriguez’s
art, visit www.devonrodriguezart.
com. Follow
Rodriguez on social
media @devonrodriguezart.
This story fi rst appeared
on our sister publication
amny.com.
Photo courtesy of Devon Rodriguez
link
/www.devon-rodriguezart.com
/www.devon-rodriguezart.com
/www.devon-rodriguezart.com
link
link
/amny.com