Sunday, October 28, 2012

Halloween costume- how to make "A Girl with a Pearl Earring"

It's Halloween time again! 

Every year, I love coming up with fun costume ideas to make with my kids. They don't always like my suggestions--this year my son turned down my idea of a cool owl costume and insisted on going as a character from one his favorite cartoons. No worries--green ninja it was. (I'll post photos of that and some past costumes later)  In the meantime, my daughter liked the idea of going as the painting Girl with a Pearl Earring.  It was fun to do and didn't cost a dime!




Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer

To start, find a extra large frame and cut a sturdy piece of cardboard to fit. Paint one side white with acrylic paint or gesso. Let dry.  Using the painting as reference, sketch in the basic shapes.



Using acrylic paint, sketch in the face (life size) and folds of the fabric and paint in the shadows.





Finishing the shadows.

Paint in the clothing and scarf. Add highlights on the folds of fabric.


Using an x-acto knife, carefully cut out face shape.






We found a silk scarf in the perfect shade of blue to wrap around my daughters hair. I also scrounged up a large pearl earring (not exactly the right shape but it still gave a good effect). 


Fit cardboard into frame and Voila!



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