Decorate pumpkins with painting
By Joanne Fox | Posted: Saturday, October 04, 2008
Among the most popular designs for pumpkins says Sioux City artist Brenda Schoenherr-Thelen , are black cats, spooky houses and skeletons. (Staff photo by Jerry Mennenga)
Carving a Halloween pumpkin can be more of trick than a treat when the process becomes messy, possibly hazardous by using sharp objects and time-consuming. But you can still create an eerie or whimsical pumpkin by painting and decorating only the outside.
Local artist Brenda Schoenherr-Thelen has been painting the outside of pumpkins since her employment at Riddle's Jewelry at Southern Hills Mall in the 1980s.
"They asked me if I would consider doing a display and I did and that's how it started," she said.
Schoenherr-Thelen said one can chose from either a real pumpkin or a plastic one, but she had some tips for choosing both.
"When you buy a real one, you want to make sure there are no soft spots and no blemishes," she said. "Color is not an issue, but you must make sure the stem is still on it; otherwise, it will rot faster."
Because it is real, you treat the pumpkin as you would a fruit and clean it, Schoenherr-Thelen said.
"You want to dunk and rinse the outside of the pumpkin with a mixture of one-quarter cup bleach to a gallon of water," she explained. "Let it dry before you start painting."
A plastic pumpkin is a good option if you want to use your masterpiece year after year. However, it is a bit more of an investment, Schoenherr-Thelen said.
"A real pumpkin has a life expectancy of, at the most, two months, but it only costs a couple of dollars or even less," she said. "You might spend $8 to $10, depending on the size, on a plastic pumpkin. But it will last almost forever."
If you decide to purchase a plastic pumpkin, then you need to make sure it is clean before you start painting on the outside, Once your pumpkin has been prepared, you will want to use acrylic paint to create your decoration, Schoenherr-Thelen recommended.
"Tempera washes off," she said. "Some people will try and use markers and they run. Then, I would recommend after you finish painting, spray the pumpkin with acrylic spray to make the design last longer."
Schoenherr-Thelen leans toward the colors of yellow and green that really pop out from the orange. Black and white are strong choices.
"Almost any primary color will work," she said. "But I've done pink on pumpkins for little girls and that's turned out well."
But the most popular presentations are black cats, spooky houses and skeletons -- anything that reflects the Halloween theme, said Schoenherr-Thelen who runs a day care out of her northside home.
"The kids here every year want pumpkins," she said, gesturing around her house, where pumpkins adorned almost every table.
People will call Schoenherr-Thelen and ask her to create a pumpkin for them. She estimated she creates over 100 every year and charges between $7 and $40.
"I'll work between seven to midnight on pumpkins and can get about 10 done," she said. "The designs are almost always free-hand and I have my favorites, but I can do special orders as well."
The creative possibilities are almost infinite in designing a pumpkin, with everything from polka-dots to characters like SpongeBob and Dora the Explorer, Schoenherr-Thelen said.
"Many times I've been asked to put a child's face on a pumpkin," she explained. "Schools ask me to come out and help students decorate pumpkins."
People who want to personalize the season may put their handprints or their child's handprints on a pumpkin. You can even have some fun with decorating your Jack-O-Lantern, not limiting yourself to witches, skeletons and black casts, Schoenherr-Thelen said.
"About three years ago, MAD magazine put out a call for pumpkin decorating and I submitted mine that had Alfred E. Newman," she said with a grin. "They ran a photo of my sons, holding issues of the magazine and also pumpkins with the MAD character Alfred E. Neuman painted on them."
Local artist Brenda Schoenherr-Thelen has been painting the outside of pumpkins since her employment at Riddle's Jewelry at Southern Hills Mall in the 1980s.
"They asked me if I would consider doing a display and I did and that's how it started," she said.
Schoenherr-Thelen said one can chose from either a real pumpkin or a plastic one, but she had some tips for choosing both.
"When you buy a real one, you want to make sure there are no soft spots and no blemishes," she said. "Color is not an issue, but you must make sure the stem is still on it; otherwise, it will rot faster."
Because it is real, you treat the pumpkin as you would a fruit and clean it, Schoenherr-Thelen said.
"You want to dunk and rinse the outside of the pumpkin with a mixture of one-quarter cup bleach to a gallon of water," she explained. "Let it dry before you start painting."
A plastic pumpkin is a good option if you want to use your masterpiece year after year. However, it is a bit more of an investment, Schoenherr-Thelen said.
"A real pumpkin has a life expectancy of, at the most, two months, but it only costs a couple of dollars or even less," she said. "You might spend $8 to $10, depending on the size, on a plastic pumpkin. But it will last almost forever."
If you decide to purchase a plastic pumpkin, then you need to make sure it is clean before you start painting on the outside, Once your pumpkin has been prepared, you will want to use acrylic paint to create your decoration, Schoenherr-Thelen recommended.
"Tempera washes off," she said. "Some people will try and use markers and they run. Then, I would recommend after you finish painting, spray the pumpkin with acrylic spray to make the design last longer."
Schoenherr-Thelen leans toward the colors of yellow and green that really pop out from the orange. Black and white are strong choices.
"Almost any primary color will work," she said. "But I've done pink on pumpkins for little girls and that's turned out well."
But the most popular presentations are black cats, spooky houses and skeletons -- anything that reflects the Halloween theme, said Schoenherr-Thelen who runs a day care out of her northside home.
"The kids here every year want pumpkins," she said, gesturing around her house, where pumpkins adorned almost every table.
People will call Schoenherr-Thelen and ask her to create a pumpkin for them. She estimated she creates over 100 every year and charges between $7 and $40.
"I'll work between seven to midnight on pumpkins and can get about 10 done," she said. "The designs are almost always free-hand and I have my favorites, but I can do special orders as well."
The creative possibilities are almost infinite in designing a pumpkin, with everything from polka-dots to characters like SpongeBob and Dora the Explorer, Schoenherr-Thelen said.
"Many times I've been asked to put a child's face on a pumpkin," she explained. "Schools ask me to come out and help students decorate pumpkins."
People who want to personalize the season may put their handprints or their child's handprints on a pumpkin. You can even have some fun with decorating your Jack-O-Lantern, not limiting yourself to witches, skeletons and black casts, Schoenherr-Thelen said.
"About three years ago, MAD magazine put out a call for pumpkin decorating and I submitted mine that had Alfred E. Newman," she said with a grin. "They ran a photo of my sons, holding issues of the magazine and also pumpkins with the MAD character Alfred E. Neuman painted on them."
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