Carving versus Painting

[DemonSlayerMau]

When I was a kid, painting pumpkins started to become a little more popular. I wanted to paint one but ended up doing something else with it instead. I remember painting a pumpkin in college as opposed to just carving it. They may have done that to avoid a mess though.
Carving is definately the traditional thing to do, but it's also very messy. I find the flesh of the pumpkin makes my skin itch, while I don't have any problems with handling the outside of one. It's definately nice to see a freshly carved pumpkin ready to be lit up for Halloween.
But some people have beautifully painted pumpkins, and sometimes you can even find them prepainted.
Painting might be a little messy. Some people may even try to incorporate both, maybe painting some blood on the flesh to make it look creepier.
Despite the itching sensation, I actually enjoy carving. Sure it takes work, but it's worth it. And it does smell really nice.
So how does Halloween.com forums feel about painting versus the traditional carving?

[Autumnal_whispers]

I've always carved mine, so I can't really say if I like painting it or not since I've never tried it. Maybe I'll try it this year since I'm growing my own pumpkins. ^_^

[iHaunt]

I chose ATW = All The Way.... Doesn't matter to me for carving, painting, putting some creative materials on all pumpkins.

[Pumpkin_Man]

TRADITION calls for carving. Besides how can you light up your jack o'lantern if you don't hollow it out and put a candle init???

Mike

[iHaunt]

White and Black Jack-O-Lanterns are excellent!

They're very cool! Whatever you desire to paint any colors of JOLs!

[DemonSlayerMau]

You could always shine a light on it or something instead of hallowing it out and putting a candle in it.
I'm not saying we should ditch the tradition of carving a pumpkin, I just think that it would be neat to try something different.

[Pumpkin_Man]

If you're a half way decent artist, you can paint the pumpkin with a luminiscent paint that reacts to ultraviolet light, and shine a black light on it for a nice scary affect, but since I could draw picture of a straight line without a camera, the traditional way of carving a jack o'lantern will have to do.

Besides. I like the way the face of the pumpkin is projected onto the walls when the candle is placed inside. It sort of creats an errie affect. That wouldn't be possible with a painted pumpkin, though I have seen some fabulous painted pumpkin faces.

Mike

[iHaunt]

A friend of mine from across the street did painting the pumpkins in all "black" color and they're so cool! After he painted them all in black, then carving before putting candles inside them. Holy jeez. Those black Jack-O-Lanterns were so great!

I'm thinking about painting both black and white pumpkins this year before carving them eyes, noses, and mouthes.

Very spooky!

[Pumpkin_Man]

That does sound very creative. If you were to light a candle inside of those black jack o'lanterns and shut off all the lights in the house, all you would see would be the faces, because the yellow interiors of the pumpkins would reflect the candle light quite well. It would appear as just a ghostly face in the dark, and it would flicker as the candle would flicker.

Mike

[MyersFan1]

Although I'm open to the idea of painting, I have to stick with tradition. The fun of creating a Jack o Lantern includes getting your hands full of the pumpkin goo, and you can't do that while painting (although it is a lot less of a mess). And no matter how good of an artist you are, there is no beating the creepiness of the a carved JOL and the smell of the the pumpkin slightly burning.

[Pumpkin_Man]

Amen to that, MyersFan1. There's just nothing like the smell of a freshly cut pumpkin, the smell of a pumpkin burning when the candle is palced in it, and the creepieness of the face as it's projected on the wall, and the flicker of the candle inside the Jack O'lantern.

Mike

[Murfreesboro]

Although I'm open to the idea of painting, I have to stick with tradition. The fun of creating a Jack o Lantern includes getting your hands full of the pumpkin goo, and you can't do that while painting (although it is a lot less of a mess). And no matter how good of an artist you are, there is no beating the creepiness of the a carved JOL and the smell of the the pumpkin slightly burning.

Nodding in agreement here. I enjoy anyone's efforts, including the painted pumpkins, but for me, the Jack-o-Lantern is king. And I prefer them lit by candles rather than electronic lights, although the electronic candles come in handy if you are going out on the street and no one is left at home to tend the burning pumpkins. That was our case last year.

Actually, I never carved pumpkins as a kid. I didn't see many at all when I was growing up in Mississippi. I don't know if they didn't grow well that far South, or what. But it was a somewhat rare treat in those days to see a jack-o-lantern at any house where you trick-or-treated. I was always enchanted by them, and as soon as I was grown and in my own apartment, I started carving little bitty ones for my window. I'd put votives in them. I knew nothing about pumpkins then. I know now I was carving the little pie pumpkins. I just thought they were cute, and perfect for a young apartment dweller, as I then was. For many years now I have carved several big ones every season. I would no more dream of going through Halloween without a jack-o-lantern than I would Christmas without a tree.

At some point I learned that you can roast the seeds, too. It took me several years before I figured out how to do it right, but now, I feel that the freshly roasted pumpkin seeds are a seasonal treat, something we enjoy only at Halloween and Thanksgiving. Sort of a cross between popcorn and nuts.

[DemonSlayerMau]

Hey I'd carve a pie pumpkin too if I had nothing else. I do think they're cute. Sometimes I get the little gourds for decoration that look like tiny itty bitty pumpkins.
I remember drawing jack o' lantern faces on them with a perminate marker so I'd have a little jack o' lantern. They always seemed too tiny to carve though.
The pie sized ones are nice as they don't take up a lot of room.
I love these itty bitty pumpkins though:

[adrian]

i do too i use those little guys all through out the house

[Pumpkin_Man]

Are you taling about the "jack be littles," that are no bigger then a tomato? I bought my niece a couple of those when she was just a baby, and my sister used a tiny "exacto" knife to carve a face on it. I thought that was pretty neat.

As for painting, if you're an artist, more power to you. Painting can be a great means to an end if you have Gout or Artheritus in your hands. I just prefer good old fashioned Halloween TRADITION, and I also love the way the candle light flickers inside the jack o'lantern.

Mike