How to Paint a Pumpkin 4 Different Ways

Learn how to paint a pumpkin four different ways using acrylics, watercolor, impasto texture, and mixed media techniques.

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If you’ve been around The Social Easel for very long, then you probably already know how much I love fall and especially pumpkins. I mean, if I could have as many pumpkins on my front porch as a pumpkin patch, I probably would.

A few years ago, I did a whole Pumpkin Paint Week, and instead of painting the same kind of pumpkin over and over, I thought it would be fun to show you how completely different one simple subject can look depending on the medium and technique you use.

We started super simple with acrylic paint, moved into watercolor, played with modeling paste for a thick impasto-style pumpkin, and finished with mixed media.

And that’s one of the things I love so much about art. You don’t have to pick one style and stay there forever. I love exploring. I will be a learner for life, and I think the more you play with different supplies and techniques, the more you start figuring out what you love.

So if you’re wondering how to paint a pumpkin, I’m going to show you four completely different ways to do it:

1. The Acrylic Pumpkin
2. The Watercolor Pumpkin
3. The Impasto Pumpkin
4. The Mixed Media Pumpkin

Try one. Try all four. Change the colors. Make them your own. Let’s paint some pumpkins!

Pumpkin #1: A Simple Acrylic Pumpkin

We’re going to start super simple with this one.

When I originally taught this pumpkin, my goal was to give you a quick win, especially if you haven’t painted before. We’re working on some simple brushstrokes, how much paint to have on your brush, building layers, and even doing a little color mixing along the way.

Start with a Simple Base Coat

I start with straight orange and put a really quick base coat over the pumpkin. And you don’t even have to fill it in 100% perfectly. Just get plenty of paint on your brush so it glides smoothly across the canvas and fills in most of that pumpkin shape. If your brush is tugging or pulling, that usually means you just need a little more paint.

Now, craft acrylics are more transparent than some heavier-bodied paints, so that first coat may look streaky. That does not mean you’re doing anything wrong. Let that first layer start drying a little and then begin building more color on top. For mine, I started pulling some coral into the orange, and you can already see how another layer starts making that pumpkin look more solid.

Add Lights and Darks to Give Your Pumpkin Shape

This is where it starts getting fun. If we leave the entire pumpkin one solid orange, it’s going to look pretty flat. So I start bringing some darker color around the edges and into some of the grooves. You can mix a berry color with your orange, add a little deeper color, and then start layering in some lighter areas too. You can literally watch the pumpkin start taking shape.

And don’t feel like every brushstroke needs to disappear. I like loose brushstrokes. I like seeing some of those colors and little marks in the finished painting. The tighter you grip your brush, the tighter and more forced your brushstrokes are going to feel. So loosen up a little. Hold your brush farther back and just let yourself paint.

Remember: Acrylic Paint Is Very Forgiving

This is something I want you to remember if you’re new to acrylics: You can change your mind. If you put too much dark color somewhere, paint over it. If you don’t like one section, let it dry and come back. If you feel yourself getting fixated on one tiny brushstroke, move on.

One of my favorite things to do while I’m painting is take a picture of it. When you’re sitting 12 inches away from your canvas, you’re seeing every single brushstroke and every little thing you think is a mistake. But that’s not how anyone is going to look at your finished artwork.

Take a picture. Step away from it. Look at it from across the room. Sometimes you need to walk away for the night and come back with fresh eyes the next morning. Your whole vantage point can change. And if something still bothers you? Come back and fix it.

That’s the beauty of acrylic paint.

Watch the Acrylic Pumpkin Tutorial Below:

Pumpkin #2: The Watercolor Pumpkin

Okay, now we’re going to change it up completely. I love how soft watercolor is, and if you’ve never tried watercolor before, don’t let it intimidate you.

For this pumpkin, I’m showing you the technique I use with actual watercolor, but I also show you how you can water down the craft acrylics you may already own and treat them a lot like watercolor. They’re not exactly the same, but it’s a really fun way to use your acrylic paint differently if you don’t want to go buy a whole new set of supplies.

Work One Pumpkin Section at a Time

I like to work on one section of the pumpkin at a time because it gives me a chance to really play with the colors. I start with a very light, watered-down orange, and when I say light, I mean pretty faint.

Then, while that section is still wet, I can tap another color into it. Maybe a little red. Maybe a darker orange.

And then you just kind of let those colors do their own thing. That’s the fun part. When the paper is already wet and you add watercolor into it, that’s called a wet-on-wet technique, and you’ll see the pigment start moving and blending on its own.

Let the White Paper Show

You’ll notice I leave a little strip of plain paper between some of my pumpkin sections. There’s a reason for that. It helps keep the wet color from one section from bleeding right into the next one. And that white paper can become part of the artwork too.

You do not have to fill in every single space. Watercolor has this beautiful soft look, and sometimes those little white areas are exactly what the painting needs.

Build Your Watercolor Slowly

I like to slowly build when I’m working with watercolor. Get a base down. Let it move around. Then decide what you want to add next. You can always go darker later,

Watercolor really is one of those mediums where you need to be patient and let it do some of the work for you. There’s not always a right or wrong. I’m showing you how I’m painting this particular pumpkin, but you can leave yours lighter. You can add more color. You can leave little specks of white. You can make yours more detailed or keep it really loose.

That’s also why I think it’s so fun to take the same design and try it in different mediums. The composition can stay exactly the same, but a watercolor version is going to feel completely different from the acrylic version. And that’s how you start learning what these different mediums can do.

Watch the Watercolor Pumpkin Tutorial Below:

Pumpkin #3: Impasto-Style Pumpkin

Now we’re getting into one of my favorite things to play with: texture!

If the word impasto sounds a little intimidating, it’s really not. Impasto is just a style of painting that has that thick-bodied, almost 3D look to it. Modeling paste, on the other hand, is the actual medium we’re using to create that raised texture.

Let the Modeling Paste Do Some of the Work

This is what I love about this technique… Once we’ve built up the pumpkin with modeling paste and let it dry, all of those fun grooves and ridges are already there. Then you get to come in with your paint and just start laying in color.

You really don’t have to do a lot of tiny detail work to make these look cool because the modeling paste does a lot of the work for you. No overthinking. No trying to make everything perfectly smooth. This style is very forgiving.

Play with Unexpected Pumpkin Colors

And who says a pumpkin has to be orange? During this lesson I played with a blue and teal pumpkin, which you can see in the video tutorial below. Just imagine all the possibilities! This is such a good way to play with color combinations and figure out which ones you love together.

And if you don’t love something? Change it. At one point, I had one pumpkin that was my least favorite. I literally set it aside, let it rest for a little bit, came back, completely changed the background, and liked it so much better.

That’s part of painting. You don’t have to freak out because you put down a color you don’t like. Paint over it.

Add Metallics to Make the Texture Pop

This is probably my favorite part. Once that texture is there, metallic paint looks SO pretty over it. I like taking a little gold or copper and holding my brush sideways, then lightly dragging it across those raised ridges.

And the coolest thing is, you don’t really have to decide where all your highlights are going to go. The modeling paste already decided that for you. The gold naturally catches on those raised areas.

I also played with an iridescent medium during this lesson, and this is a perfect example of why I’m always telling you to experiment. I tried mixing it directly into the paint and then tried putting it over the top.

Paint your color first and then add your iridescent medium over it. It stands out so much more that way.

Don’t Overwork It

This is another thing I want you to hear: Sometimes when a painting is simple, we feel like we have to keep messing with it. Like, Surely I can’t already be done. But sometimes you are!

If you like the way it looks, call it good. You do not have to keep adding stuff just because the painting came together faster than you expected.

Get a little messy, play with the color, and enjoy the process. It does you good to just get lost in it for a while.

Watch the Impasto-Style Pumpkin Tutorial Below:

Pumpkin #4: Mixed Media Pumpkin

Our last pumpkin is mixed media, and if you’ve never tried mixed media before, this is SO fun.

Mixed media basically means we’re combining different mediums in one piece of art. Acrylic paint is a medium. Scrapbook paper, stencils and even napkins are mediums. Watercolor is a medium. Paint pens are mediums.

So when we start combining acrylic paint with scrapbook paper, napkins, tissue paper, stamps, stencils, paint pens… All of that becomes mixed media. And I’m warning you now that once you start looking at scrapbook paper and napkins this way, you may start saving everything.

Start by Playing with Paper

I usually start by picking out some different patterns. You can use scrapbook paper, tissue paper, a pretty napkin, whatever catches your eye. And I usually tear the paper instead of cutting it into perfectly straight pieces. Those torn edges look a lot more natural.

If you have these really straight pieces, sometimes it just looks like chunks of paper sitting on the artwork, and that’s not what we want. So tear them. Lay them down. Move them around. Stack a couple together. See what happens.

This part is really like putting together a puzzle. You might put the polka dots in one area and then decide, Nope, I like them better over here. That is completely fine.

Use Mod Podge to Layer Everything Together

Once you like where your papers are, you can use Mod Podge or another decoupage medium to glue them down.

What I love about this product is that it works as a glue, a sealer, and a finish. And once it’s on there, you can paint right over the top of it.

If you’re using a napkin, make sure you separate those layers first and only use the printed top layer. Napkins are definitely more delicate, so once you get it down, gently smooth it into place and then leave it alone. Don’t keep messing with it while it’s wet or you’re probably going to tear it. One trick is tearing a little piece of plastic wrap and laying it over the napkin as you laying it down while it adheres to the glue. It helps prevent it from tearing.

Trust the Ugly Stage

Okay, here’s the thing about mixed media. It’s going to look ugly in the beginning. I’m just telling you now. But, that is part of the magic.

You’re going to have scrapbook paper over here, a napkin over there, random patterns, different colors… And you may look at it and think, Does she even know what she’s doing right now? I promise you, I do.

Mixed media is a very organic process. You’re layering and building. It has that weird awkward stage where it feels a little random and a little crazy. But, it’s going to work out. Once you let go of trying to control everything and worrying about the outcome you will really fall in love with the creativity of the process. The biggest thing to remember? Trust the Process & don’t overthink it!

Paint Over the Patterns

Once those papers are on, start adding your acrylic paint. And this is all personal preference. You decide how much of the pattern you want to show.

• Want more pattern? Use thinner paint or water your paint down into more of a glaze.
• Covered up too much? You can wipe some of that paint away and reveal more of the pattern underneath with a wet wipe or watered down paper towel or rag.
• Want less pattern? Add another layer of paint.

What I’m trying to do is make sure you can’t clearly see all those paper edges when we’re done. I don’t want it to look like random pieces of scrapbook paper stuck onto the canvas. I want those layers to become part of the artwork.

Finish It with Loose Details

Once everything is dry, then I love coming in with paint pens. Quick little lines. Scribbles. Outline a few things. Add little pops of white, black, teal, gold—whatever your painting needs. You’d be amazed how those little accent marks start pulling everything together.

And don’t make them too perfect. I’m doing these really sketchy. They don’t have to line up exactly with your pumpkin. I even like scribbling in my art because scribbling is very freeing and fun to do.

Tell Your Brain to Chill Out and Play

More than anything, that is what I want you to take away from mixed media. Just play. Once you tell your brain to chill out and stop worrying about whether everything is going to turn out perfectly, this becomes so much fun.

You’re not on a deadline. You’re not trying to impress anybody. You’re just playing. We need more play in our lives and less stress.

Your job right now is to keep playing and experimenting as you go. Try something. Don’t like it? Paint over it. Break the rules and see what happens.

Watch the Mixed Media Pumpkin Tutorial Below:

Which Pumpkin Painting Style Is Your Favorite?

Isn’t it fun seeing these all together? We started with the same basic subject, a pumpkin, and ended up with four completely different pieces of artwork.

• The acrylic pumpkin lets you practice brushstrokes, layers, and color mixing.
• The watercolor pumpkin is soft and loose and lets the water do some of the work.
• The impasto pumpkin gives you all that yummy raised texture and lets you play with modeling paste and metallics.
• And mixed media? That one just gives you permission to pull out all the things and play.

And honestly, that’s one of the reasons I love trying different techniques. You may think you don’t like watercolor until you try it. You may think modeling paste looks complicated and then realize, Oh my gosh, this is so easy and fun. You may discover mixed media pushes you completely out of your comfort zone, and then end up loving it.

The more lessons you do and the more things you try, the more you start discovering your own style. And your style may change over time. Mine has. That’s part of growing as an artist.

So don’t worry about finding the one “right” way to paint a pumpkin. Just pick the one that looks fun and start!

Watch All 4 Pumpkin Painting Tutorials Below:

Want to Learn More?

If you loved getting to try four completely different techniques, that’s a little peek into the way I love to teach inside my Tribe painting membership. I don’t teach just one style of painting. We’re always playing around, trying new techniques, learning how our supplies work, and building those skills one painting at a time.

And while Tribe isn’t always open, it’s such a fun place to experiment, try new techniques, and grow your confidence when it is.

If you want to be the first to know when it opens again, click here to join the email list so you don’t miss the next time Tribe opens.

I’d love to see what you create! Post a picture and share what you learned on The Social Easel Facebook Page!

Stay creative and happy painting!