Masked muses! Talented Bronx artist sketches incredible black-and-white portraits of people wearing face masks on the New York City subway - earning social media fame in the process

A New York City artist is documenting the coronavirus pandemic by sketching people wearing masks on the subway.

Devon Rodriguez, from the Bronx, has spent hours traveling on the subway every day in search of people to draw for his 'COVID mask subway drawings' series. 

The talented 24-year-old sketches his unsuspecting fellow passengers while sitting near them on the train, and his impressive artwork has now earned him over a quarter of a million Instagram followers and 2.3 million TikTok followers.

Amazing: A New York City artist is documenting the coronavirus pandemic by sketching people wearing masks on the subway

Nice art: Devon Rodriguez, from the Bronx, has spent hours traveling on the subway every day in search of people to draw for his ' COVID mask subway drawings ' series

The talented 24-year-old sketches his unsuspecting fellow passengers while sitting near them on the train

Devon has been using his talents to draw subway riders for years, starting while he attended the High School of Art and Design (which also counts designer Marc Jacobs among its alumni).

'The first subway drawing I did was because my 9th grade art teacher, Jeremy Harper, used to show me his sketchbooks from when he was a student and they were filled with subway drawings,' he told Jam Press. 

'They inspired me so much and he convinced me that it was a great way to practice.'

But while he started sketching on the subway in 2011, he stopped soon after — and only turned to public transportation for inspiration again during the pandemic.

A native New-Yorker, the full-time artist has stayed in the city throughout the coronavirus pandemic, and like nearly all New Yorkers who were able to, he stayed home for the first several months.

He was thankful to be able to go back out onto the subway recently to document the reality of COVID-19 up close and personal. 

His impressive artwork has now earned him over a quarter of a million Instagram followers and 2.3 million TikTok followers

'The first subway drawing I did was because my 9th grade art teacher me his sketchbooks from when he was a student and they were filled with subway drawings,' he said

Safer: He was thankful to be able to go back out onto the subway recently to document the reality of COVID-19 up close and personal

He said: 'Faces are a thing that I’m so used to capturing on the subway and now most of them are covered up with the COVID masks'

'I started back up on August 10th because of people wearing masks and how different the subway looked,' he said.  

'The subway has been a subject of mine for several years now. Faces are a thing that I’m so used to capturing on the subway and now most of them are covered up with the COVID masks. 

'The pandemic added a whole new dimension to the work. It changed the entire portrait of the subway.

'I think it’s interesting to capture this devastating moment in time with art. It’ll reflect 2020 when I look back on them in the future. 

'I’m very curious about people, how they operate, what they wear, how they interact with the world around them,' he went on.

'Even when I’m not drawing I’m watching people and thinking about their nuances, and the different mannerisms that people adopt,' the artist said.

This week, he managed to complete a sketch of a woman sitting across from him before she got off the train — and handed the finished drawing to her

Detailed: He covered all the details of her outfit and her tattoos

'Wow, this is amazing. You even got my tattoo!' she tells him. 'Thank you!'

'They’re a perfect subject for me to draw. When I’m drawing, it’s like a meditation.'

Devon has uploaded his work on social media, sharing videos of his drawings in progress ad well as the final portraits.

'As I’m rendering their forms and clothing I’m pondering things like what does their body language say about them,' he said. 'How does the way they present themselves describe their psyche?' 

He mostly prefers to sketch with graphite on notebook paper, rendering New York's diverse cast of characters in their protective masks.

This week, he managed to complete a sketch of a woman sitting across from him before she got off the train — and handed the finished drawing to her. 

'Wow, this is amazing. You even got my tattoo!' she tells him. 'Thank you!'

'I think it’s interesting to capture this devastating moment in time with art. It’ll reflect 2020 when I look back on them in the future,' he said

'I’m very curious about people, how they operate, what they wear, how they interact with the world around them,' he went on

Attention: Before the pandemic, Devon did some more elaborate subway artwork, snapping photos and then doing color paintings at home 

Before the pandemic, Devon did some more elaborate subway artwork, snapping photos and then doing color paintings at home.

In 2019 he was profiled by the New York Times. 

'I don’t have to hire anyone. I just get on the subway and there are paintings everywhere,' he said of his muse. 'There’s an unlimited subject matter.'

'Feeling like I'm capturing a moment in history with my art is very fulfilling,' he added to CNN. 'And the fact that I've received such a huge response to them is amazing in itself.

'Drawing, painting and creating in general always helps me feel like myself. As long as I have a sketchbook, an easel, some paint and some brushes I'll probably be fine.'