Father Christmas Gourd

by Sheryl Parsons
(Wendover ut, Joseph, OR)

Father Christmas - Hand painted gourd

I have been a Santa creator for years, but never out of gourds until 2 years ago when a fellow artist sent me some little gourds with a note that said, "See what you can do with these".

I was excited as I love creating holiday art using things found in nature, such a driftwood, tree branches and so on.

I tackled the gourd challenge with fervor, using air dry clay for features such as face and beard I sculpted details onto my gourds. I then use acrylic paints to bring the characters to life.

My tip on painting would be to make sure the gourd is well cleaned and perhaps sanded lightly to give it tooth. If you are painting the whole gourd you might want to use gesso for coverage and more paint stability.

I paint in layers from dark to light or light to dark to add depth to my pieces. I seal them with a spray on matte finish sealer, using several coats, to assure good coverage and sealing. Above you will find one of my pieces recently sold on Reasons to Believe, a wonderful Santa collector shop.