One of the most important things parents teach their children about the outside world is not to take things from strangers. However, if you happen to be riding New York City subway and a stranger offers you a portrait, you should strongly consider accepting it. That’s not only a nice gesture, but it also might be the work of Devon Rodriguez.
Rodriguez is a famous TikTok artist who has spent the past couple of years drawing portraits of a stranger on the NYC subway and then gifting them to his subjects. He often captures the process and reactions of passengers on camera and then shares it with his TikTok followers.
@devonrodriguezart Making people smile with art 😌
♬ Locked out of Heaven – Bruno Mars
The formula of drawing people on the subway and giving them the portraits has gained Rodriguez almost 30 million followers and around 400 million video likes. And this is quite impressive, considering he has a comment from a random TikToker to thank for that.
@devonrodriguezart Want to learn my secrets to portrait drawing? Check out my online course— link in bio
♬ Clair de Lune – Johann Debussy
In a recent chat with The New York Times, Rodriguez revealed that he was struggling as an artist a couple of years ago and was looking for a way to gain extra exposure. He got the idea to draw people on the subway and share the results on TikTok. This proved to be popular, but he still didn’t achieve the results he wanted.
It was only after Rodriguez read a comment on one of his videos: “You should give it to them at the end.”
After considering the proposal a bit, Rodriguez decided to try it and hasn’t looked back since. He is now not only a popular social media influencer but also an exhibiting artist and the finalist for the prestigious Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition award.
But despite the huge success, Rodriguez still continues to do what got him there.
@devonrodriguezart I can’t believe how happy his friend was to see me!!! 😁♥️
♬ Gogo Dance – El Alfa & Chael Produciendo
@devonrodriguezart I got so lucky that I could make this stranger’s birthday better 🥳♥️
♬ Happiest Year – Jaymes Young
