Ghost and Lavender Star Painted Short Fat Pumpkin

From pumpkin to porch

1. 1

   Clean and dry the pumpkin

   Wipe the wide flat surface clean with a damp cloth and dry it fully. The broad front face of this pumpkin acts as a natural horizontal canvas; any surface residue will cause acrylic to bead and flake within days.

2. 2

   Plan the ghost arrangement

   Mark three ghost center points across the front face in chalk or pencil. Center the largest ghost at the middle and place the two flanking ghosts slightly smaller and closer to the edges. Vary the heights very slightly so the row does not look perfectly mechanical.

3. 3

   Sketch ghost outlines

   Lightly sketch each ghost: a rounded oval body, two small wavy arm-like extensions at the sides, and a slightly scalloped or wavy base. Keep the outlines simple and chunky. The broad face of this pumpkin accommodates a large center ghost of about 10 to 12 centimeters.

4. 4

   Paint the ghosts in two coats

   Apply undiluted white acrylic with a flat brush, following the sketch outlines. Two full coats give clean opacity over the orange rind. Let the first coat dry completely before applying the second. Add small oval black dot eyes while the second coat is still slightly tacky so they bond well.

5. 5

   Paint lavender stars in the gaps

   Mix a small amount of purple into white acrylic to make a light lavender. Use a small pointed round brush to add five-point stars in the spaces between and above the ghosts. Concentrate them near the top of the face where there is more open orange background.

6. 6

   Seal and display

   Once all paint is dry, apply a matte acrylic spray sealer. Display on a kitchen island in soft daylight where the wide horizontal shape and the three-ghost row are seen at face height. The sealed paint will hold through the full season even on a kitchen counter surface.

Written with AI to match this design