EXCLUSIVE: Young Bay Area artist gifts artwork to J. Lo, A-Rod after concert

ByAmanda del Castillo KGO logo
Friday, June 14, 2019
EXCLUSIVE: Young Bay Area artist gifts artwork to J. Lo, A-Rod after concert
A young Bay Area artist got to meet Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez after his artwork caught their attention.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- A young artist from San Jose was in for the surprise of his life on Thursday.

ABC7 News first introduced you to Tyler Gordon in May. He recorded himself painting a portrait of Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez. The video went viral, and soon reached the celebrity couple.

"I really look up to J. Lo and A. Rod," he said. "I hope one day I get to meet them and give them this painting."

RELATED: 12-year-old San Jose boy tries to get Jennifer Lopez's attention with amazing painting skills

As it happens, Jennifer Lopez had a San Jose show scheduled for her 'It's My Party Tour,' on Thursday, June 13th.

One of Tyler's wildest dreams was within reach.

With that knowledge, ABC7 News, Tyler's mom, Lopez's management team and the SAP Center put in the work.

"As a mom, your kids all have dreams," mom, Nicole Kindle said. "And when it comes true for them, it's more than you can handle."

We sat back down with Tyler on June 13th, the night of J. Lo's concert.

We asked if he'd like to attend the event and whether he'd be interested in presenting J. Lo with his portrait.

"That'd be amazing," Tyler said.

When he told it was in fact happening, Tyler was moved to tears.

RELATED: South San Jose artist creates custom shoes, art to give back to community

Tyler and his entire family were presented with tickets to the concert, and were given meet-and-greet passes to visit with J. Lo.

Because Tyler is gifting his work to the celebrity couple, his mother gave him a personalized vest with his portrait on it.

"Never give up on those, no matter how big of a kid you are or how old of a kid you are," said Lopez.

"No matter where you come from you can dream really, really big. We came from nothing and we dreamed big and our reality's coming true every day. It's why she does it, it's why I do it to inspire the next generation. And Tyler is just another example of that," said Rodriguez.

His viral portrait was in full view. His wildest dream was fulfilled.