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THE GHOUL WITH A PEARL EARRING

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THE GHOUL WITH A PEARL EARRING

Michael Whelan
Oct 29, 2024
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THE GHOUL WITH A PEARL EARRING

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A horror homage to "The Girl with the Pearl Earring" by Vermeer. A ghoul in a green trench coat tilts its head back offering a tight, awkward grin. Its yellowing teeth are a match for its unnatural eyes. A blue scarf is wrapped around it's long forehead and a grey teardrop earring hangs from its ear. The background is loosely rendered, framing the subject off-center in circle that looks like a large rusting porthole.
THE GHOUL WITH THE PEARL EARRING (2012), Oil - 20” x 16”

This began life as a drawing in one of my sketchbooks while reading Mutant Hunter: The Slicks by Stephen R. Cox. I was trying to get the feel of one of the mutant characters in the book, but it fell short of the mark.

Leon Miller stands on a mound of broken concrete blocks as he surveys the oil covered expanse of Ocean known as the Slicks. The Screamer—a multiengine military aircraft—streaks past a sweeping gray plume of smoke that trails off panel left, originating at a crash that is still burning just over the horizon. Miller is wearing combat fatigues. He holds an EM weapon that resembles a slim bazooka pointed straight up. His hood is drawn up and he's wearing polarized shades. A spiral of red wire runs down from the strap of his pack and around to his back. A coil of rope hangs from his other hip. Set on jagged branch pikes, three heads of mutants—presumably his bounties—stick up from the rubble, casting gristly gazes in different directions.
MUTANT HUNTER: THE SLICKS (2012), Acrylic on Panel - 24" x 36"

I liked the thing’s grin enough to want to try to paint it, so I devoted a little time one morning sketching the head out in oils.

Later I came into my studio and noticed for the first time how similar the head position was to that of the girl in the famous painting by Vermeer…so I put some more time into it and brought it up to a full color rendering.

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Additional images from THE GHOUL WITH A PEARL EARRING

LEFT: NO BLOOD (2012), Oils rendered in limited color, prominently burn umber. A mutant bearing a large hunting knife casts amber eyes up to the audience. A touch of red rims the eyelids, conveying crazed anger. Its face is withered, showing the contour of bones around maxilla and cheeks—making it look almost like a skeleton. Pointed ears give way to wisps of white hair on an otherwise bald pate. Its shirt is basic fabric with no stitching, ripped around the neckline to show pronounced clavicles and taut neck muscles. CENTER: Original pencil drawing of mutant from sketch book. The head is more upright than the later rendering. RIGHT: Detail from THE GHOUL WITH A PEARL EARRING featuring a close up of the head tilted back with an awkward grin. A blue scarf wraps an abnormally long sloping forehead. Amber eyes roll to lock on the audience.LEFT: NO BLOOD (2012), Oils rendered in limited color, prominently burn umber. A mutant bearing a large hunting knife casts amber eyes up to the audience. A touch of red rims the eyelids, conveying crazed anger. Its face is withered, showing the contour of bones around maxilla and cheeks—making it look almost like a skeleton. Pointed ears give way to wisps of white hair on an otherwise bald pate. Its shirt is basic fabric with no stitching, ripped around the neckline to show pronounced clavicles and taut neck muscles. CENTER: Original pencil drawing of mutant from sketch book. The head is more upright than the later rendering. RIGHT: Detail from THE GHOUL WITH A PEARL EARRING featuring a close up of the head tilted back with an awkward grin. A blue scarf wraps an abnormally long sloping forehead. Amber eyes roll to lock on the audience.LEFT: NO BLOOD (2012), Oils rendered in limited color, prominently burn umber. A mutant bearing a large hunting knife casts amber eyes up to the audience. A touch of red rims the eyelids, conveying crazed anger. Its face is withered, showing the contour of bones around maxilla and cheeks—making it look almost like a skeleton. Pointed ears give way to wisps of white hair on an otherwise bald pate. Its shirt is basic fabric with no stitching, ripped around the neckline to show pronounced clavicles and taut neck muscles. CENTER: Original pencil drawing of mutant from sketch book. The head is more upright than the later rendering. RIGHT: Detail from THE GHOUL WITH A PEARL EARRING featuring a close up of the head tilted back with an awkward grin. A blue scarf wraps an abnormally long sloping forehead. Amber eyes roll to lock on the audience.
NO BLOOD (2012), finished character study, pencil sketch, and detail from THE GHOUL WITH A PEARL EARRING

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THE GHOUL WITH A PEARL EARRING

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Debra Sanders
Debra’s Substack
Oct 29Liked by Michael Whelan

Unbelievably clever. Have a great Halloween!

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