What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.~William Shakespeare
Names are really important. Think about your name. Whether your parents followed tradition or came up with something totally new, the letters that come together to form your unique label are important because they identify you.
If you have a child like I do, you can relate to the struggle of finding that one perfect name that will stick with them the rest of their life. Will they like it? Will it fit their personality? Will kids make fun of them? What do their initials spell?
To be completely honest, I didn’t like my name much when I was younger. Danielle. No one else had my name. Girls were supposed to have names like Jennifer, Michelle, Christie or Amy; the common names at my school. As the third girl in my family, I was supposed to be a boy. Daniel. That was supposed to be my name. No matter how many times people told me how much they liked my name, I spent a lot of my childhood thinking my name was supposed to be a boy’s name. Thankfully, I grew into my name. Though, I still don’t let anyone call me Dani-cringe!
According to www.babycenter.com, the name Danielle hit a high of 14th most popular baby name for girls in 1987. If you are interested in searching popular names, top names over time, or getting ideas for baby names, this is a great website. My name is also now popular as a middle name.
You might ask what this name stuff has to do with art? Well, when it comes to my art, I Iove being able to personalize art for people. Since drawing actual people isn’t my thing, I would rather paint or draw letters and names, first names and/or last names, alone or put them into other art as a collage.
Looking through my collection of drawings the other day, I realized I should share some of these on my website. I love to create art into names and the ideas are endless--wall art, coloring pages, watercolor art, etc.
Below are some of the names I have drawn as gifts for friends or created on commission. At times, the point is to read the name clearly, other times, the name is a bit more abstract.
"Emily", pen and ink drawing.
"Scott", pen and ink drawing.
"Kyla", pen and ink drawing.
"John", pen and ink drawing.
I was approached to create a piece of art for a friend's grandson. She said she wanted it drawn in my art style, with color. The only parameters were that I include his name and I was told he loves vegetables and gardening, and she didn't want the art to look to babyish.
"Colton", watercolor and ink mixed media.
I am glad I have grown into my own name. Especially since I have one niece named after my first name and one named after my middle name. I can’t run around saying I don’t like my name with two beautiful girls using it.
Letters and monograms are also fun to make as art. I shared The Letter 'E' in my previous blog. The Letter 'S', shown below, is hand drawn on a monogrammed greeting card and is available for sale.
"The Letter 'S'"
What name or letter would you like to see as a piece of art? I would love to create something special for you or someone you love!