Pixels in Time: Capturing History With Precision

This project was an unlikely one for me, as I'm not an artist. The first portrait that I attempted using a technique called stippling was inspired by a photo of my father, a Holocaust survivor, taken shortly after he was freed from a concentration camp. My goal was to recreate that photo using a technique called stippling, where one creates an image by placing tiny black dots on paper in varying monochromatic (black and white) values from light to dark, which artist Giulio Campagnola is said to have first originated during the Renaissance period in the year 1510.

Artists Georges Seurat and Paul Signac later popularized this technique, adding colored dots to create paintings in the late 19th century - a precursor to modern day pixels. This version was called Pointillism, and was similarly reflected in music composition during the Impressionist period by composers Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel.

To demonstrate the process of making a stippled portrait, I have recreated the steps I took in making my father’s portrait - this time, using a photo of Helen Keller, another inspirational individual who lived during the late 19th century when Pointillism in art became popular.

Stippling is very relaxing and requires a lot of patience, however, the result is very gratifying.

- An inspirational historical or personal photo

- Photocopy paper

- Tracing paper

- Pencil, eraser, ruler (optional)

- Scotch magic tape or art tape that can easily be removed without tearing the paper

- A set of permanent fine tip markers. One of my favorites is the Micron Brand which comes in sets containing fine line markers in a variety of tip sizes. For this project, I used sizes 01, 03, and 05.

Find a photo that inspires you. Here you can see the photo of my father which was my first inspiration to try the stippling technique. For this project, in order to show the process of creating a portrait using the stippling technique from the Renaissance Period in art history, I selected a portrait of Helen Keller, a prominent historical figure who I greatly admire and respect.

If the photo is in color, prior to printing, I convert it to black and white in my printer's settings and adjust the contrast to highlight the darkest and lightest sections. See the photos here for a comparison. Since the edited photo will be taped to the tracing paper, I print a second copy to use as a reference photo.

Center the photo, face down on a sheet of tracing paper and use a tiny piece of tape at each corner of the photo to secure it to the tracing paper.

Tape the tracing paper with the photo attached to a window or door that allows natural light to illuminate the photo from behind. Alternately, the photo can be placed on a surface such as a clipboard, light box or table, with a bright light which will help to view the image when drawing the outline..

With a light touch, use a pencil to outline the largest areas of contrast, gradually adding details such as highlights. In the photo showing the traced outline, you can see that I placed a white sheet of paper under the traced drawing to make sure that I hadn't left out any areas.

Before starting to stipple with the permanent fine tip markers, I like to create a reference shading chart consisting of six squares adjacent to each other. I place dots in each square, starting on the left with the smallest tip (01) and the fewest number of dots in the first square, then increase the number of dots and pen tip size as the values increase from light to dark and each square progresses to darker shades that are more densely populated and become increasingly more opaque.

Take your time and savor the process - I like to play relaxing music as I work on my project. I decided to start with the most challenging part of the portrait because in case I mess up, I haven't invested hours on filling in the easy parts, where errors are less likely to be noticed.

The best tip I can provide is this: Less is more. Remember that more dots can always be added to increase the opacity, but removing color is not an option with permanent markers, so use a gentle hand as you add tiny tiny dots to your artwork. It also helps to take frequent breaks to rest your hand (and eyes) and every once in a while stand back from your work and view the portrait from a distance for perspective.

Continue stippling to add layers of dots for shadows and opaque areas, frequently comparing your work in progress to your reference photo. Do not be discouraged if, in the first stages, the image doesn't appear as you think it should. As your work progresses and the "painting" is viewed from a distance, you will likely be surprised and impressed with how the portrait evolves from mere tiny dots on a page to a comprehensive image, with contrasting highlights and shadows.

When the portrait is in the final stages, start stippling the background - again, use your value chart and the original photo for reference. Look away frequently and, at this stage, it's a good idea to step back from your portrait frequently and view it from a distance.

Your portrait is finished, and is ready for framing! Although I was personally inspired by the individuals whose portraits I selected for my "paintings," the technique of pointillism/stippling is extremely versatile and can easily be applied to landscapes, still life, animal portraits, floral design - even abstract art! Discover what is most meaningful for you!

I hope that you have enjoyed this project and will find further inspiration from the artists throughout history who popularized this technique and whose influence has made an important historical contribution and impact in the world of art, music and culture.

Thank you.