My sister and I like to paint pumpkins. We've carved 'em before for one or two Halloweens, but most years, we paint. I suppose we like colors better than carving, paint brushes better than knives.
This year, we love how they came out. We usually research for fifteen minutes before sketching. With Pinterest nowadays, it's sooo easy to find a good design. I got my inspiration this one here and the one here. Then we sketch with a black ball-point pen. (We found black pens are the best b/c when the paint dries, you can see your original sketch, and the paint dosn't pick up the ink like it would with a washable marker.)
We paint over our sketch in layers, letting the each layer dry before moving to the next. We paint the lightest layer first, the black layer last. These two are my sister's:
...and year after year, she still amazes me. She claims pumpkins are her favorite canvas to work on, and it shows. She paints actual portraits on pumpkins, it's crazy. Do you see the details in shading? Nuts.
She added butterflies poked into the pumpkin with a thin flower wire, for a 3D effect.
Mine are more flat images, not too much contour and shading. Just outline and color.
This one reminds me of a skeleton version of Pee Wee in this scene...and of course, what I adore on a pumpkin: my boops:
Do you put pumpkins out for Halloween?
Carve or Paint?
the painting pumpkin scene from last year, October 2012
my all time favorite painted pumpkin from October 2010
