Devon Rodriguez’s portraits seen around the world

We are obsessed with people. We are obsessed with the idea that so many people have stories to tell. Yet we never ask. We never engage. Especially on the subway systems across the country. Why be social right?

However, for Devon Rodriguez, a Puerto Rican and Honduran artist, he LOVES people and actually engages with them. “People were always so compelling to me,” Rodriguez, 27, told Remezcla during a recent interview. “I like to watch them and understand them and their culture.”

Rordriguez’s videos were one of those accounts that popped up on my Instagram feed. I can’t remember whether it was a “For You” or if one of those newsy accounts reposted him. However, I was in awe how he could quickly draw portraits… for everyday people as well. And the results are beautiful.

“I did this painting of you.” Six words that he says to everyone he provides a portrait to. Art was his medium to get away. And what started as 1,000 followers soon became 100,000 after his first video went viral. Rodriguez is an example of how many talented people there are in the world. With the right amount of “love” from friends and family and meeting the right educator, these talents can become known across the world.

Rodriguez is now drawing portraits for well known figures including President Joe Biden! He also just closed his first exhibition in New York City. According to artnet.com, “…titled ‘Underground,‘ his first, and everything about it reflects exactly this strange combination of hypervisibility and invisibility. It was in Chelsea, New York’s blue-chip art hub, but was not at an actual gallery. Instead, it was a pop-up staged by UTA Artist Space, the art arm of the Hollywood talent agency that inked a deal to represent Rodriguez ‘across all media’ in 2021.”