Dan Duffy, creator of Art of Words, credits his wife and the 2008 World Series for the 100,000+ prints he’s sold all over the country.
“I met my future wife in 2008, and we watched the World Series games together. I had to do something to impress her, so when we won, I tried to make an image with letters. Some people play the guitar to impress a lady. I make word art.”
14 years later, the Flourtown resident’s pieces are as popular as ever. Dan’s go-to is sports, though Art of Words offers music and historic pieces as well.
“They’re all a lot of fun to make. I write out song lyrics and song titles to create a performer or band. I created the Liberty Bell from the Declaration of Independence, ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ to create the War of 1812 flag, ‘God Bless America’ to create the Statue of Liberty. I’ve done MLK’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech and Lincoln’s speech.”
Dan made a recent cameo on FOX29’s Good Day Philadelphia to showcase his forthcoming masterpiece, a portrait of Citizens Bank Arena which will feature the names of every player to don a Phillies uniform since 1883, including 2022’s roster. With Philadelphia sports teams having one of the most collectively dominant years ever, business is good.
“I hope to be working on a Road to the World Series piece, maybe another Bryce Harper, who knows. I’ll be ready the moment the Phillies win. The big one for Art of Words is Christmas Village outside of City Hall. If the Eagles stay undefeated and the Phillies win, it’s going to be a heck of a holiday season,” Dan said.
A graduate of Hussian College of Design in Philadelphia, Dan started out selling pieces to tailgaters, and by 2012 Art of Words became his entire focus.
“I’m not in any galleries, the art world has never embraced me as anything. I’m completely in the hands of sports and music fans, and I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said. “I love that my prints are under $50. I want to keep it that way.”
Dan’s style is a recent iteration of an ancient genre. Calligram is as old as text itself. Pieces created thousands of years ago used Hebrew characters to create images of farms and crops. It’s a time-consuming approach, and Dan averages roughly one finished work per month.
“The most time I’ve spent on single pieces was about 200 hours for Villanova’s Pavilion and for the Eagles’ Super Bowl. I wrote every score and date for the season,” Dan said. “If the Union wins, I’m going to create something for that, too. It’s absolute madness. I’m going back to a college sleepless nights situation.”
It’s a labor love, and Dan is thankful for Philadelphia’s passionate sports scene.
“If I had grown up in Nebraska without any Philly fans around, I don’t think I’d be making word art,” he said.
For more on Dan and his creative output, you can check out his website, his Facebook page, and his Instagram page. To watch a clip of Art of Words pieces featured on a July 5 episode of The Today Show, you can click here.