A BRIEF EXPLANATION by TED WASHINGTON
Dots? Why dots? How long does it take? How many hours? Those are the questions usually asked when people see my work. When I began doing the dots extensively, years ago, it was solely due to the lack of any other tools beyond pencil, paper and rapidograph pens. After some really low budget traveling, they were all that was available and useable in limited space; the pens travel well. However, once I started, I was hooked.
There is no machinery other than the camera used to take the initial photo of the model. Eye and hand create all imagery. There is no white out used - none. Absolutely positively none. It is a search for perfection and the peace derived from the search itself that drives me forward. Moments of clarity when all the dots before and the dots to come make perfect sense and seem doable. These moments are fleeting and perfection is still the goal.
The time it takes and the duration of concentration and focus are the real challenges. For myself it's a form of meditation, like a time machine, it removes me from the here and now and deposits me hours into the future; although, I never measure by hours-months is the yardstick. A piece (most are 20" x 30") usually takes two to three months to complete.
The process is what it's all about, not the time. Most are portraits of people I know. It starts by photographing the model, setting up highly contrasted images. I then make a pencil drawing on illustration board. This is usually the hardest part because it is the foundation and guide for everything to come. Four pens, all different in point size, are used, starting with the largest first, to ink in the image. I'm still pushing my technique and the ink.