A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words - Issue No. 10

This is pretty cool.  And if you're a Texan you'll definitely want to share this.  A gentleman by the name of Nathan Hoang used to live in Texas for 25 years.  He started to get a little homesick so he took on a project he hopes to continue for the 50+1 states.

He listed all the things he missed about Texas and made it into a poster.  A "Love Letter" to his home state.  He's also made a video and explains why he would like to call his project "HOME".  Feel free to check this out on his kickstarter page.

It's been 3 months since I posted an issue of "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words", so for those who haven't seen my previous issues I started this series as a way to introduce my readers to the world of art through words.  And by words, I mean where the artist has taken several hundred pieces of text and created a masterpiece; it could be a self-portrait, landscape or still-life.  It's called Typographical Art, much like a typographical quote you see posted on a Facebook news feed from time to time. But with hundreds, if not thousands of words instead of just a few.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words - Issue No. 9

The last issue of "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words" was nearly a year ago.  I know - that's crazy; March 13, 2012 to be exact.  

In either case, for those who haven't seen my previous issues I started this series as a way to introduce my readers to the world of art through words.  And by words, I mean where the artist has taken several hundred pieces of text and created a masterpiece; it could be a self-portrait, landscape or still-life.  It's called Typographical Art, much like a typographical quote you see posted on a Facebook news feed from time to time. But with hundreds, if not thousands of words instead of just a few.

A Man of His Word

Click on the image and then click on the image again to see every detail up close!

Today's issue is nothing short of amazing.  The artist known simply as Straye-Close spent over 150 hours creating this masterpiece.  Every whisker, every wrinkle, every feature uses a word describing something.  From the name, Morgan Porterfield Freeman Jr., movies he's been in, characters of the people he's played in those movies, awards he has won, and almost every quote he could find for those films.  Truly an extraordinary piece of art!

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words - Issue No. 8

I couldn't have said it any better myself - A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words.  I started this series with a different premise, but overall, the message in this blog is still conveyed through art by the use of words.  

I fell in love with this piece of art, because it's so blatantly true.  If you focus on the solution - it will all come down to one word, Love.

It brought me great joy to share it with you, so please share away.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words - Issue No. 7

I haven't posted an issue of "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words" in over 5 months.  I have so many series on my blog that by the time I get to one I really want to talk about, a new story pops up, or a funny video takes it's place.  

In keeping with current events I felt the best place for this post was in this series, because while the art itself does not consist of words, it does consist of a broader message.  In contrast to my other posts, where the words made the art, in the portrait below, The National Post’s graphics team uses artillery shells to convey it's message.

With the death of Kim Jong-il there is uncertainty about how much support the third generation of the North Korea’s ruling dynasty has among the ruling elite, especially in the military, and worry that successor Kim Jong-un might need a military show of strength to help establish his credentials. The National Post’s graphics team explores the firepower available to the great successor.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words - Issue No. 6

click to enlarge

In order to grasp at what the artist is trying to convey, you have to enlarge the picture of his self-portrait, "Facing My Dreams."  If "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words," this is it.  The artist, who goes by the name hworangi107, is a graphic designer currently living in Chicago.  

When I read the words that make up this typography, it takes us back to a time when we were teenagers, or still are, and the wishes our fathers have for us.  But it wasn't about what dreams our parents had for us, it was about "OUR" dreams that we wanted to fulfill.  

We hear stories, read books, or watch movies about this sort of thing, aka "Dead Poet's Society."  We want to make our dad happy by becoming a doctor, when in reality, we want to be an actor.  Or like in the reality show, Master Chef, that Ryan and I are currently watching.  Many of the amateur cooks who want to win this competition, are professionals who have always wanted to follow their dreams of becoming a chef.  I'm talking about doctors, lawyers, and accountants here.

"We all have dreams, we all have wishes, but it's facing them that will make our future." 

~ Peter aka Blade

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words - Issue No. 5

Simply stunning, simply breathtaking is all I can say about my fifth issue of "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words," and you can't capture it's true imagination until you click the picture and enlarge it.  As one commenter put it, "Made of Words by *rawimage is just that. An entire picture made of words. I'm sure you'll agree that the level of detail is simply amazing. It's incredible what you can do with Lorem Ipsum and a lot of time on your hands." - Patgroove

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words - Issue 4

This typographical self-portrait of sALuUm literally speaks volumes. He states that it took him over 8 hours to do the main drawing in Illustrator, plus an hour using Post-Work in Photoshop.  A lover of photography and web-related works, the amateur artist from Melbourne, Australia admits his favorite style of art is Vintage, Minimalist.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words - Issue 3

For my third issue of A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words, 21 yr old artist, Laemmen, describes himself as one who likes photography and esthetic design.  He is currently going to school at the University of Arts in Bremen where he has enrolled in Digital Media.

Judging from his first typographical portrait, he's headed towards a great career...

Self-Portrait by Laemmen

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words - Issue 2

In honor of her new album being released on May 23rd (Mine and Ryan's 6 year anniversary), Lady Gaga graces the cover of my 2nd issue of A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words.  

Lady Gaga by Skye Shettle

Along with her video, Judas, being released on E! and American Idol this week, her Monster Ball Tour Special at Madison Square Garden airs this Saturday on HBO.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words - Issue 1

As most of you may know, I'm a huge fan of quotations and typography.  

When I used Facebook as my only source of communication with the outside world I would post them on a daily basis.  The main reason I resorted to blogging was because I couldn't find issues or topics I had previously discussed, and became frustrated with that.

Barack Obama Burdened

I came across a typographical portrait of President Obama while "googling" for some pics and wanted to share it with my viewers.  The portrait, created by Dylan Roscover consists of 12,680 individual characters, and was featured on the Table of Contents page of the February 1, 2010 edition of TIME magazine.

About the artist, I couldn't have stated it any better myself:

"Dylan Roscover is a brilliant graphic designer who creates a wide variety of striking digital media pieces. This portrait of Obama uses typography to expertly illustrate the pressure and incredible burdens our president has to deal with while in office. The craftsmanship and composition of this typography portrait is remarkable and definitely deserves a standing ovation" - Taro13

I hope to continue this as a daily or weekly series, it all depends on the amount of time I have in the day.  Please feel free to share your thoughts or opinions on this.