30+ Pumpkin Painting Ideas

Painted pumpkins are perfect for Halloween. Enjoy these super creative pumpkin painting ideas and other no-carve pumpkin decorating ideas!

Painted pumpkins are so much fun to create. Have you ever painted a pumpkin before?

There are so many unique and creative ways to paint a pumpkin. I’d rather make a painted pumpkin any day than deal with carving a pumpkin and touching the gooey guts inside. This girl is a fan of no-carve pumpkins!

You can paint real pumpkins and fake craft pumpkins. The benefit of painting a fake pumpkin is that you can keep it from year to year. And if you get tired of the paint one year, you can always re-paint the pumpkin with a new design!

How to Paint a Pumpkin – What kind of paint do I use on pumpkins?

Here are a few different types of paint you can use on pumpkins and the pros and cons of each:

• Acrylic Craft Paint – The little bottles of paint you can get at any craft store work great for painting pumpkins. They are inexpensive and come in a huge variety of colors. This is my go-to paint for pumpkins.
• Spray Paint – Spray paint works great on pumpkins for doing a base layer of color, but it’s not very easy to make detailed designs using spray paint.
• Chalk Paint – Chalk paint has great sticking power and a soft, matte finish and works really well on both fake and real pumpkins.
• Latex House Paint – If you already have some leftover house paint on hand, you can definitely use it on pumpkins, but it’s more expensive to buy, so I wouldn’t choose this paint otherwise.
• Kids Tempera Paint – Tempera paint is a great option for kids to use, especially if you buy a washable variety. It may scratch off the surface of real pumpkins, but if you don’t need it to last for a long time, it works just fine.
• Watercolor – Watercolor paint does technically work on a pumpkin, but because it’s so runny, it drips on the curved surface of the pumpkin, so it can be difficult to work with. Watercolor paint also tends to be quite see-through, so you would definitely need to use another kind of paint as a base coat.

This video tutorial shows you four fun ways to paint a pumpkin!

Pumpkin Painting Video Tutorial

I’ve also gathered over 30 pumpkin painting ideas to inspire you. There’s a style for everybody… spooky, colorful, sophisticated, whimsical. You’ll have a hard time choosing which painted pumpkin to make! Click on the text link above each picture to see more about how to make each individual pumpkin idea.

Plaid Painted Pumpkin:

Sharpie Watercolor Pumpkins:

Striking Black and White Pumpkins:

Marbled Pumpkins with Nail Polish:

Paint a Pair of Silly Witch Legs:

Artsy Hand-Painted Pumpkins:

Folk Art Pumpkins:

Gorgeous Floral Fall Painted Pumpkins:

Spooky Word Painted Pumpkin:

Cinderella Glitter Pumpkin:

Doodle Pumpkin:

Neon Dipped Pumpkins:

Metallic Painted Pumpkin:

Abstract Colorful Pumpkins:

No-Carve Owl Pumpkin:

Mud Cloth Painted Pumpkins:

Muted Tones Painted Pumpkins:

Blue Porcelain Painted Pumpkins (okay, could you die? GORGEOUS!):

Vintage Chalk Paint Pumpkins:

Faux Bois Painted Pumpkins:

Pour Art Painted Pumpkins:

Fun Black and White Pumpkins:

Letterboard Pumpkin:

Baseball Pumpkin:

Funny “Pun”kins:

This might be the most beautiful painted floral pumpkin ever:

Metallic Glitter Drip Pumpkins:

Glow in the Dark Dot Pumpkin:

Colorful Fall Pumpkins:

Tons of No-Carve Pumpkins perfect for kids to do:

Watercolor Pumpkins with Glitter Stems:

Sharpie Owls:

There you have it… tons of creative ways to paint a pumpkin. I love the hand-painted floral pumpkins best, but I’m not sure I’m a good enough painter to pull them off. Which was your favorite pumpkin?

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