Painted Gourds - Witches' Choir

by Golda L. Rader
(Conroe, Tx)

Witches Choir

I just painted these gourds for Halloween and I think they are so cute (copyrighted of course) and I may submit them to teach. What do you think? The hardest part was making the hats...lol. There are five in all. Golda Rader

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.

Painted and Cut Out Gourds

by DD
(Newberry, SC)

South Carolina Lighthouses

Gourds have quickly become my surface of choice for painting on. The versatility is limited only by your imagination. I cut out the seven lighthouses with a jig saw. They circle the entire gourd. The I painted them....

Hello DD, Cheryl here from Your Decorative Painting Resource.... how wonderful! That's great work you did there.

My big concern from this photo, though, is that you're using a real candle in there. DRIED GOURDS ARE EXTREMELY FLAMMABLE so please consider using a battery operated "flame". I'd hate for anything to happen....

Treatment for Dried Gourds

by Ruth K Mattox
(Beaumont TX)

I've found over the years that after the gourds are cleaned and dry, that if you put a coat of Kilz (primer / sealer) on first, it will cover all blemishes and nothing will bleed through. Works great!!!

Everyone has a fit over painted gourds and I have no trouble selling them at our church bazaar every year.

The most popular are Santas and Snowmen!