Duffy’s Penn State illustrations are all worth a million words | News, Sports, Jobs

Photos courtesy of ART OF WORDS
Word artist Dan Duffy holds a unique illustration he created of Penn State’s Beaver Stadium.

UNIVERSITY PARK — Dan Duffy never finds himself at a loss for words, especially when he comes to creating stunning images of iconic people, places and moments in history.

The Philadelphia artist’s unique illustrations spark cherished memories and capture the hearts of recipients. Especially a line of Penn State pieces that Duffy has created by meticulously handwriting relevant words.

Such is the life of a word artist.

“The whole thing started because I wanted to impress a girl,” Duffy recalled of founding his company, Art of Words. “I didn’t have a lot of money. I didn’t have a nice car. I figured this was the best way to impress her. We’re married now, so I guess it worked.”

In 2008, he wrote out every game from the Philadelphia Phillies’ World Series championship season to win the heart of his girlfriend. He took the art concept to the streets of Philadelphia and sold copies while tailgating at Citizens Bank Park.

Fast forward to today, and that girlfriend, Jess, is now his wife and they have two kids. By the way, the word-art concept also stuck and Duffy has become renowned for his handwritten pictures.

“What I wouldn’t expect is that so many other people would like it, too,” Duffy added. “I really wanted to connect art that was different, that connected with people. The passion people have for where they’re from is inspiring.”

Happy Valley included.

Most Nittany Lion fans would salivate over the prospect of purchasing any of his three pieces of artwork. There’s “Beaver Stadium – Penn State Wins,” which is a handwritten painting with the date, opponent and score of every win by the Nittany Lions since historic Beaver Stadium’s opening in 1960 through 2018.

That’s 512 games in all including both national championships.

Duffy created the image to portray one of college football’s best experiences – a White Out game. His portrait captures the moment just as the Blue Band lines up to greet the players rushing onto the field.

“My favorite part is when you get to the point where you’ve added enough words and layers, and the image finally starts to reveal itself,” he explained.

From research to completion, each piece takes Duffy at least 50 hours, with what he calls “more ambitious pieces” requiring 150 to 200 hours.

There’s “Penn State – We Are,” which is handwritten with teams, majors, clubs, organizations and places. Of course, this artwork honors the famous “We Are” phrase, which echoes at Beaver Stadium on many a gameday.

Lastly, the “Nittany Lion – Penn State Fight Song” is handwritten art formed from the lyrics of the fight song.

“I make art out of words, it’s kind of a crazy occupation,” Duffy said. “But what I love about it is that every letter is important. It’s really how they all work together to create the image.

“Every line, every pen stroke has to be done with intent,” he added. “And then the fun part is finding words that are going to be meaningful to the person viewing it.”