DIY Painted Pumpkin on Canvas

Some affiliate links are included below for supplies that I have used in this post.  

How to Paint a Pumpkin
For Art Teachers and Personal Use
I decided I needed a few more Fall decorations but I didn't want to spend too much, so I pulled out my paints and a canvas that I already had. I decided I would share my steps here in a tutorial. You can use the same colors that I used or you can use traditional fall colors if you prefer.

I have also included my line drawing of the pumpkin. You can download it here and trace it onto your canvas if you need to or you can draw your own pumpkin.

Supplies I used:

White Chalk Pencil (optional)
6"x 6" Canvas
Variety of Paintbrushes
Acrylic Paint
Colors I Used:
Master's Touch: Viridi, Titanium White, & Yellow Medium
Blickrylic Burnt Umber (Master's Touch also has a Burnt Umber)
See links below for some of the supplies I am using.

Step 1 - Preparing the canvas
Paint the entire canvas with a thin coat of Burnt Umber (brown). I always paint the canvas with a contrasting, but complementary color. This prevents the white of the canvas from showing through. It also adds some interest to the layers of paint.

Step 2 - Drawing
Draw the outline of the pumpkin using the white chalk pencil. Download my sketch here.
You can use a regular pencil, but I like the white chalk pencil because it can easily be erased to make corrections, and the white shows up on the dark background.
Transferring the drawing - You can freehand draw the pumpkin OR transfer my drawing onto your canvas. You can use the chalk pencil to color on the back of the printed line sketch then trace over the line drawing. If you do not have a chalk pencil or a piece of chalk you could use carbon tracing paper.

Step 3 - Background
Using the aqua blue (Master's Touch Viridi) color and a thin liner brush, I painted around the outside edge of the pumpkin. Then I used a wider brush to fill in the entire background and sides of the canvas with the turquoise blue. I add white (Titanium white) paint to my brush to add highlights to the brushstrokes.
Tips:
I leave the brushstrokes to add texture.
After the first layer dries I go over the background again with another layer of color allowing some of the first layer to show through in places. This adds depth to the background and covers most of the brown surface.

Step 4 - Pumpkin
I mix white with a little Burnt Umber (brown) in two or three shades of off-white. Using the darkest shade, I use a thin brush to outline the edge of the pumpkin. Then using the lighter shade of white+brown mixture (mostly white), I fill in the sections of the pumpkin leaving the darker outlines showing. (I go back later to finish the white parts and add more shading.)

Step 5 - Stem
Using the Burnt Umber (brown), I use a thin brush to paint the stem of the pumpkin. While the paint is still wet I dip the same brush into the off-white paint and paint streaks onto the stem to create the ridges. These ridges are usually not perfectly straight. They kind of twist on the stem like a candy cane stripe. Alternate between the brown and the off-white, using more brown, making sure the two colors partially mix and do not leave solid stripes.

Step 6 - Leaf
The leaf is optional. You can leave it off if you just want the stem.
Mix a little yellow and off-white paint with the aqua blue (Master's Touch Viridi) that I used for the background to get a soft green. I wanted the color to be soft like the rest of the colors in the painting. I did not want a bright green. I used my thin brush to paint the outline of the leaf and then filled in the center with the same soft green color. After the first layer dried I added a highlight of a lighter shade of the same green on one edge of the leaf.

Step 7 - Pumpkin shading
After adding the stem and leaf details, the first layer of the pumpkin was dry, so I went back to add some shading. By adding shadows and highlights you can create the illusion of the round forms that you see on a pumpkin. Using a half-inch flat brush and the darker shade of off-white, I painted along the edge of one section of the pumpkin. While that paint was wet, I added a lighter shade of off-white. The two colors partially blend together. Use strokes that go up and down and follow the curve of the edges of the pumpkin. I also added some pure white paint strokes in the center of each section of the pumpkin. The lighter white creates highlights that come forward creating the illusion of form. Paint the lighter highlights in the middle and the same side of each section.
Repeat this step for each section of the pumpkin.
Tips for shading:

Shadows recede.
Highlights come forward.

Step 8 - Finish and touch-ups
Finally, look over your painting and darken any shadows that need it and add highlights where needed. More shading and highlights will add more dimension and depth to your pumpkin.
Go over any edges that need sharpening to avoid losing details.
Make sure all sides of the canvas are painted with the same brushstrokes used on the front of the canvas. The painted sides of the canvas look more finished and can be displayed without a frame.

Step 9 - Sign and Seal
Sign your art in an inconspicuous place.
I always sign my art but I don't like the signature to be a distraction so on this one I decided to paint my signature on the side edge. If there is room I usually paint it on the bottom right side corner.

To Seal or Not to Seal
An acrylic varnish or sealant will protect the painting and even out the sheen of the painting.
Some acrylic paints have a different sheen to them. Some are flat, some are glossy, some are somewhere in between. In order to even out the sheen all over the canvas, you can use an acrylic varnish. I like to use a spray-on varnish. There are both spray-on and brush-on that are good. I have used both with success.

Have fun and go paint a Pumpkin! 
I hope this is helpful to anyone who wants to paint a pumpkin. Please let me know in the comments below if this was helpful to you or your students or if you have any questions.



Mrs. Macre♥Art

Supply Source Links:

Paint:

Master's Touch Acrylics Set of 36 colors 

Canvas: 

Blick Art Supplies: Gallery Style Stretched Canvas

Amazon: 6x6 Gallery Style Stretched Canvas

Brushes:

I have a variety of brushes that I purchased. I used these while I was teaching and continue to use these brushes. They are quality brushes but economical.

Scholastic Wonder White Acrylic Brushes

Watercolor Doodles

Doodling with Paint or Pens
on Watercolor Test Pages

Doodling can be so fun and relaxing. I have always been the doodler in class or meetings to keep the boredom away. I would much rather be in the studio drawing or painting.

Lately, I have taken to doodling on my watercolor/color test pages. When I'm stuck about what to paint, I just fill a page with shapes and colors as you can see in the above photo.

I thought I would share my process.

Supplies I Use:
Watercolor Paper or Mixed Media Paper
Watercolor Brushes
Watercolor Paint Pans
(I use a variety of pan watercolor paints and some in tubes.)
Fine Point Black Sharpie Pens
Gold Sharpie Paint Pen
Silver Sharpie Paint Pen
Sharpie Paint Pens
(This is not a paid ad for Sharpies. I just like the brand and it is affordable. I plan to try some other brands soon.)

When painting with watercolor, I keep an extra piece of mixed media paper on the side. I use that paper to test the colors that I am using. I paint thin washes of color all over the page. The washes that I create are random.

Tip:
Leave some spaces white or barely painted. Those are the areas that can be drawn over with the pens. Using a marking pen on thicker paint tends to ruin the tip of some types of pens.

After I fill up a page of color testing, I cut them into smaller pieces. For this set of doodles, I chose a rectangular plaque shape. I purchased this paper punch last year and had not used it, so I decided to use it for this project. But these could easily be cut into any shape with scissors or an x-acto knife.

Ideas for shapes:

Paper punch shapes on hand
Bookmark style rectangular shapes
Squares (Mini square or larger)
Rectangles
Circles
Hearts

After you cut the shapes out of the watercolor test papers, bring out your favorite drawing tools or paint pens. You can use marker pens, paint pens, brush pens, colored pens or pencils. I love trying out new supplies. I am a little art supply obsessed. Especially with pens and drawing materials.

Just Doodle

Using a paint pen, I start drawing lines. Sometimes I start with a border around the edge of the paper and other times I just start drawing shapes inside. Use your own ideas and style. That is the fun part. You may want to use a sketchbook to doodle with a pen or pencil to get some ideas and variations of your ideas. I have also doodled with white pens on black art paper. You can read about it on my personal Art Journal blog here.

Once I start doodling, I get ideas for the next one. I think about what would look good with the one I am currently working on. If I don't get a new idea, I will recreate the last one except change up the direction of the shapes or change the colors, or both.

What To Do With The Finished Cards
String them up across on a Chalkboard, Bulletin Board or on your wall.
They also make great gift tags, thank you cards, name tags or accessories in planners or scrapbooks. I'm sure there are many more ways they could be used. I would love to hear your ideas! Leave your ideas in the comments below.

Get Creative
Go ahead and get creative! Experiment with watercolor and pens. If you do not have the supplies for watercolor, just use plain drawing paper or cardstock. Cut them into any shape you want and doodle with pens and markers. I plan to do the same with Acrylic paint.