Recreating A Master - My Girl With A Pearl Earring

                                                 My Girl With A Pearl Earring 16 X 12
                                             Colored Pencil On Ampersand Pastelboard

This is a piece I worked on as an example of what can be done with colored pencil for my class of advancing CP students, Recreating A Master.  Of course most master works we think of are paintings so it was my goal to teach my students how to accomplish that painterly look with CP.  And as a tribute to Johannes Vermeer's, Girl With A Pearl Earring - I posed my granddaughter Cora in a head scarf and clothing similar to Vermeer's Girl.  By the way I had the pleasure last year of seeing this painting in real life at the Louvre Museum, in Paris.  And mine is almost the same size, except in inches not cm.  Below you will find the photo I worked from for capturing Cora.

I didn't have a blue scarf for her head, nor the right clothes but her Mom had a jacket that was of similar color to the original, See below, (I believe I can show the real image here since it's a master painting and his copyright has expired).  Johannes Vermeer painted this in 1655.

                                            Johannes Vermeer's Girl With A Pearl Earring

I chose to make the clothing more similar to Vermeer's and scarf color.  I chose to change the turban like yellow scarf into Cora's pony tail.  For several reasons, but mainly to make her be well, My Girl.  Cora loved posing for me and especially liked getting to wear the red lipstick.  My pearl earring was not as large as as the one in the master's but it seemed to fit.

Working on this was a love in many ways, it's my oldest granddaughter, it's my tribute to Vermeer's piece, (one I have always loved) and I enjoyed trying to get CP to look like a painting.  The jacket and scarf were very much an act to replicate what a brush originally did.  

Checking in after a long hiatus from the blog, teaching and traveling have kept me from posting but I promise to get you all caught up on what I have been up to as we set into the cold months.  My students will show some of their master works at my January Student Show at Crossroads Art Gallery and My Girl will be hanging there also.  Enjoy Thanksgiving Day Everyone!

Gloria