The TODAY show: Savannah Sellers interviews Devon Rodriguez on his rise to success on TikTok

are celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month by shedding light on an artist who has become a social media star. NBC news anchor Savannah Sellers met with this guy. This is a really cool story. I was so excited that I actually got to meet him. because you've probably seen his work, he's doing those subway drawings. I had the opportunity to sit down with davon

rodriguez

. He is part of the next generation of artists using social media to get noticed and as the most followed artist account on tick-tock, working is clearly what I like to do most. I always said that if he could draw portraits for the rest of my life, he would be happy growing up in the South Bronx and raised by his grandmother.

Devon Rodríguez always knew he wanted to be an artist. Me, like a kid from the South Bronx decides I want to make art, so I've always loved art my whole life, since I was four years old. I loved drawing and by the time I got to high school, I was doing graffiti. but he wanted to draw realistically, so as a teenager, Devon took up painting portraits. The portraits are so intimate, how did you decide if that's what you really like to paint? This guy named James Harrington who was painting his student, he looked so real and I got into it. in class and he told us about oil painting so we would always be like drawing people and he inspired me so much that I knew that's what I wanted to do forever, year after year Devon worked hard to perfect his craft by practicing drawing. strangers in a familiar place, the New York City subway, he would just take pictures of people without asking them or anything and then he would just paint in oils at home, but it wasn't until last year, in the middle Of the pandemic, when Devon started posting his subway sketches on social media, people took notice, which made you think I'm going to get into the tick-tock game, so during quarantine everyone was locked in their houses and boards and I was on instagram and I was seeing these little kids who were going viral and they liked to live a big life, so when I saw tic toc I thought, okay, maybe this could be the way I'm going to go back on the subway and sketch people wearing their masks now and let's see how that goes, what makes you decide that you're going to draw someone, so I try to look like a wide variety of people, like all backgrounds, every group of age, it's just random, does anyone ever look at you as a friend, what?

Are you doing why you look at me all the time? But then I'll start explaining it to them and then they'll be like, "Oh, really, okay, okay, draw me, excuse me, miss, yeah, I made this drawing of you. Devon's drawings went viral." Her first post racked up almost 5 million views and then the next one, 17 million people were sending me messages like, "Oh my gosh, I watch your videos and they help me overcome my anxiety and depression and just make me smile. I never thought that would make me happy." would take". Plus, with all of his newfound popularity, there's one person who still keeps the 25-year-old artist grounded.

What does grandma think now? She says you're doing something right, but she doesn't fully understand social media and how her friends from her church always like her. oh my grandson loves your grandson, she's like my grandson, like she doesn't even clean her room, like, how is she, how does she have these fans

today

with 19 million followers and counting? Davon is now the most followed artist on tick tock. a true artist but you are also a social media star yeah how did you two meet? I think I was lucky. I didn't like getting a lot of attention as a kid, so I think that drove me to like him.

Okay, how am I going to go out and try everything at my disposal and finally something worked really well before we say goodbye? I just had to ask Devon. Can you guess me? You have so much talent. Is incredible. Is incredible. It's true. I know. And obviously, its future. brilliant as you can see there, but check this out, he recently sold one of his paintings at a prestigious auction along with works by other artists like Andy Warhol for over 22 thousand dollars and if you couldn't see well here's that sketch, how cool is it. this, you have to get that frame, I know, I know I definitely will, but it didn't take me long, which is pretty cool and you can see the whole process where he did it with his tic tac, he gave me the treatment like one of the subway paintings and then also on the tick tock page of

today

's

show

is also available right now what are you going to do with your uh your portrait?

You're going to put it in your office, yes, no, it's something like that. my office and give it to her like your mom or something, yeah, it's a bit of a weird image, well, sometimes you forget what you look like, you don't need a mirror.