Pumpkins and fall gourds might seem a little intimidating when you begin to think about it, but with good bright fall colors and good contrast, you can easily paint pumpkins you can be proud to display.
I really prefer to paint pumpkins on barn board or other raw distressed boards, but you can also do them on finished wood such as a tabletop or chair, on fabric such as placemats, a tablecloth and matching napkins, a sweatshirt or jeans. You might even consider decorating the backs of some clear glass plates, bowls and other dinnerware that I just purchased very inexpensively from WalMart. There is a previous article about painting on tiles or glass with a special paint. You can check it out here: Handpainting Glass or Ceramic Tiles
First, let's consider the pumpkin. We all know that pumpkins are orange, right? Of course, most are, but they also come in yellow, cream, some with green touches and some are almost red. Look carefully at a pumpkin or picture of one. Relax while you look at it. If you have been practicing using the right side of your brain, use it now to study the pumpkin. Notice how the sections fit together and how you see their separate outlines at the top. I like to see these as sort of slices of pie, the sections fitting neatly together yet each having it's own "identity".
Begin with a light sketch. I often work with light-colored chalk. You can remove the excess right away by gently blowing on the lines and the rest should come off as you paint over the lines. When the sketch is done to your liking, (let's do this one orange) basecoat the entire pumpkin in a good medium orange.
You don't have to let it dry, just use the wet brush and pick up a little burnt sienna and a little more orange on one corner of the brush. Stroke a little on your palette to settle the dark paint in the brush. Now start on one side of the pumpkin and paint with the dark corner turned toward the line between the section furthest away and the next closer one. The shading color should go on the section that is behind. Go over the shading color a couple of times, each stroke moving a little further from the line.
Continue going around the pumpkin this way, skipping the center section (the one closest to you) and moving to the outside of the section divider line as you move to the other side. Try not to reload the brush when working closer to the center section, but add color as you move toward the outside edge again.
Once you have put in the shading, it is time to highlight. Wipe the brush clean and reload a little orange, followed by some yellow and a little white. Stroke on your palette to soften the colors together and pat/pull/blend some into the center of the center section. Lightening this area will bring it closer to you and make it more prominant. Next pat/pull/blend some of your highlight color along the section lines, next to the shading color you put in before. As you work, you can add some orange to the section if you need it to blend into and let the highlight color get a little darker as you work toward the back of the pumpkin.
Add a couple of leaves attached to the stem or from a tiwning vine coming off of the stem. Be sure to accent the leaves with some of your rich fall color. Pull a little grass up around the bottom of the pumpkin and you are ready for the next one. Painting one, three or five on your project will be a good idea. Uneven numbers are more pleasing to the eye.
This will get you started on your fall painting. Perhaps we can cover gourds and colors to use for them soon!
I have also noted a couple of books below that have some great instructions and ideas for painting pumpkins and lots of other goodies! One is in acrylics and one is in oils. Both are very informative and the directions are complete. There are also many illustrations to show you just how to accomplish the results you see in the pictures.
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Happy painting,
Paula Devore
Painting Editor
