Painting a pumpkin is a great alternative to pumpkin carving. It’s easy, you can let your artistic creativity run wild and even children can get to work without risk of injury. In this guide, you will learn what you need to consider when painting pumpkins and which colors are suitable.

How Can You Paint A Pumpkin?

For many adults and children, the autumn season is also the time for Halloween pumpkin painting faces. Scary faces are then carved into the pumpkins. But carving into the hard pumpkin shell is often not so easy and sometimes quite strenuous. What’s more, carving pumpkins is not really suitable for smaller children. It is much easier to paint pumpkins.

Painting a pumpkin is fun for the whole family. Everyone can design their pumpkin according to their own ideas and decorate their house and garden with individual autumn decorations. Whether it’s a funny pumpkin face, plain and elegant, or pretty table decoration with graphic patterns – painting a pumpkin gives you plenty of scope for your own ideas.

Before you get down to work, find suitable pumpkins. Remove the coarse dirt and wash the pumpkins with a little water. Then dry them well with a cotton cloth. If possible, do not wash the stem, as this could cause the pumpkin to rot more quickly.

To make the color last better and look stronger, you can prime the pumpkin with spray paint or a universal primer before painting. Then apply the design of your choice to the pumpkin. It is helpful to make a stencil and paint the outline of your desired motif on the shell. You can also use tape to draw straight lines or geometric shapes. Of course, you can also just paint away. Paint stains can be easily removed with a damp cloth.

Allow the paint to dry thoroughly. Embellish your pumpkin decoration with small wiggly eyes, glitter stones, felt, bows, or other decorations. Attach them to your pumpkin with hot glue.

Which Pumpkins Are Suitable For Painting?

Basically, every pumpkin is suitable for painting. Popular pumpkin varieties are Hokkaido, butternut, or ornamental pumpkins. Painting is easier if the pumpkin is relatively smooth and the surface is free of cracks and scratches. The pumpkin should also not have any brown or soft spots, as these shorten the shelf life of the fruit. Also, make sure that the stem is woody and firm. This way you can enjoy your autumnal decoration for a long time.

Pumpkin Painting Faces: Which Color?

Ideally, you should use opaque colors to paint pumpkins. Acrylic paints or permanent markers are particularly suitable. If you want to use acrylic paints, use a bristle brush or a sponge to paint larger areas. To paint finer lines, use either a finer brush or a cotton bud.

Decorative Ideas for Painting a Pumpkin

There are countless creative ideas for painting a pumpkin. Scary or funny pumpkin faces are particularly popular, especially with children. Simply paint eyes, nose, and mouth directly onto the pumpkin. Or prime the pumpkin with white acrylic paint beforehand and paint a scary face with a black permanent marker.

Painted pumpkins can also look very classy and decorate your home in a stylish and elegant way. Use shiny acrylic paint, for example in gold or silver. Or paint your pumpkins in white or black and combine them with autumnal shrubs to create a chic autumn decoration. Use effect colors and glitter to give your pumpkins a particularly exclusive look.

Or decorate your pumpkin with floral motifs, dots, or stars and give the autumn fruit a playful look. For a modern Halloween decoration, paint several pumpkins with clear geometric shapes and arrange them all together on gold, silver, or black tray. To make the shapes as even as possible, use a stencil or tape to outline the shapes.

How To Make The Painted Pumpkin Last Longer

Another advantage of painted pumpkins over carved autumn decorations: they last much longer because the pumpkin fruit is not damaged – unlike with carving. Use a pumpkin that is as fresh as possible and free of brown, mushy spots.

It is also important that your work of art is placed in as dry a location as possible. The fruit does not tolerate moisture very well and could otherwise mold more quickly. To protect the pumpkin painting faces from rain and other weather conditions, you can also apply a sealant after painting. For example, use a clear lacquer spray. This will keep the colors beautiful and the pumpkin fresh for longer.