How To Carve A Pumpkin Portrait Like A Pro

There's an array of REALLY BIG pumpkins to be found in La Canada Flintridge, with carved designs ranging from the Joker and Venom to Baby Yoda and a happy little ghost. They're created on-site at Descanso Gardens for its annual nighttime special event, Carved.

Production is continuous, since these hollowed-out wonders only last about three days. On a recent night in the Rose Garden, a jeweled hand with an eyeball peering out of its palm was among those on display. It was one of the many pumpkins carved by graphic designer Zack Faraday. As visitors milled about the finished works, he scraped away at another enormous gourd.

Artist Zack Faraday at his carving station in the Rose Garden at Descanso Gardens' Carved event, running through Oct. 29.

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Susanne Whatley

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LAist

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“First we draw a picture,” he explained. “We lay in an ink [on the display side of the surface] and put in all the gradients we want. Once that dries, we go in with a linoleum cutter and a clay loop tool and we cut all the parts we want highlighted. Once that's all finished, we cut it out in the back and we stick a floodlight in.”

When the pumpkins are illuminated from behind, the effect is a glowing portrait without any of the gummy insides visible.

Faraday encourages amateurs to give this method a try.

“I think for me, it’s the most fun way to carve a pumpkin," he said. "A lot of people will just cut out triangles for the eyes and a hole for the mouth. But when you get to go in and be a little more artistic and draw a picture on your pumpkin, it's a lot more fun.”

Home carvers may want to scale down their own orange-fleshed canvases from those seen at “Carved,” which can weigh hundreds of pounds. Next to Faraday’s carving table a Jack Skellington portrait sat forlornly off to the side, busted out from an unfortunate encounter with gravity and ground. He suggested people search “pumpkin carvers” on Instagram for inspiration.

“There are a lot of really wild things that people do and ways that people innovate and that actually fuels me and the other artists here for our show,” he said.

A hand watches visitors in a Rose Garden pavilion, carved by artist Zack Faraday

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Susanne Whatley

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LAist

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Anything else that’s fatal to a carved pumpkin other than dropping it? Faraday’s reply came without hesitation: “Squirrels. Keep it inside.”

"Carved" at Descanso Gardens requires a separate admission and online reservation. It runs nightly through Oct.29.