Dia De Los Muertos Pumpkin

In thinking about a pumpkin that would have some longevity I decided to paint a detailed one.  So I ventured over to my local craft store yet again and purchased a carvable fake pumpkin.  I later discovered that they are less expensive on Amazon (see link below).  I figure I can put this into my fall decor storage at the end of the season and enjoy it for years to come. 

Supplies:

• Pumpkin (Real or Fake will work)
• White Acrylic Paint 
• Brush
• Multi-colored Sharpies (I recommend the fine point)
• Black Fine Point Sharpie
• Fake flowers
• Hot glue sticks/ Hot glue gun

I began by sketching a skull shape on the face of my pumpkin.  For those of you who prefer to trace, you can draw the shape on a piece of paper then cut and trace that.  I initially used a very fine point Sharpie, but then darkened the line with a fine point Sharpie instead. 

 

My next step was to fill in the shape of the skull with white acrylic paint.  This was fairly easy to brush on with a sponge brush.  I had to do two layers in order to fill it in completely.  For coloring purposes afterward, you want to be sure to brush it on evenly so that your surface is clean and flat. Be sure to allow some time for your paint to dry. It took mine about two hours.

From there you draw the skull basics: eyes, nose, mouth.  For the eyes, I traced a circle because this shape has never been my forte. The nose is an upside down heart which, as a doodling girl, has always been easy for me.  For the teeth I drew humps on top and bottom. I did not measure this exactly but did try to line them up to form the tooth shape. 

Probably the most difficult part of this entire project was doodling around the outline to fill in these shapes.  I went to Google images and searched for pictures to work from.  I just did my best to make it as symmetrical as possible. I made rotating flowers inside the eyes and a flower petal shape outlining the circles of the eyes.  I added a mustache and detailed the teeth.  It was unintentional, but the top of the skull resembles a spiderweb too.  So be creative and sketch to your heart's delight.  If by chance you mess up, don't be discouraged.  You can always paint over it and then try again. 

After you have completed your outline, you fill in your skull with colors.  I went with bold colors.  You could also consider using paint pens to fill in the colors.  I then outlined parts that I thought need emphasizing.  It gave it a bolder look.  

My final touch was to take silk flowers and hot glue them in an arrangement on top.  I bought these on a single stem and used wire cutters to detach them.  They ended up looking beautiful atop this festive pumpkin.