Skip to content
Inspiration

Fun and Creative Ways to Celebrate this Halloween

Fun and Creative Ways to Celebrate this Halloween


Costume parties, spooky decors, trick-or-treating, and candy hunts-Halloween will be different this year, but it can still be enjoyable with creative alternatives to traditional activities. Ready your sketchbook or journal and read on as our ZenART team prepared a list of safe and mindful Halloween painting ideas to celebrate this year. Get set to paint, create, and have fun!

The Rise of the No-Carve Pumpkin

It's pumpkin season! The concept of the no-carve pumpkin is on the rise and it's something we like to creatively celebrate. This concept is easier to do, more fun for the family to work on, and safer as it doesn't involve any carving tools. 

Conceptually, the no-carve pumpkin means you have a wide range and types of ways to paint, color and create together. Today, we are sharing some of our favorite pumpkin Halloween painting ideas and if you have your own no-carve projects please share with us on social media and we will happily reshare and celebrate what you are doing in this no-carve creative fun fest. Enjoy!

Why do we use pumpkins in the first place?

We go back to an old Irish myth. When immigrants moved to the U.S. in the 1800s they brought with them the tradition of carving jack-o'-lanterns. According to this myth, jack-o'-lantern is named after Stingy Jack, the man who tricked the devil numerous times in his lifetime. When Jack ultimately died, he was condemned to live on earth in his entire afterlife. He wasn't welcome in heaven because of his bad ways and neither was the devil keen to let him into hell. To frighten away Jack's soul, people in old Ireland started to carve fiendish faces on large turnips. Since pumpkins are in abundance and are native to the U.S, the immigrants started using pumpkins replacing other varieties. 


Rainbow Color Blocking Pumpkins

Rainbow Color Blocking Pumpkins

Spread rainbows through your Halloween decor this year. To thank all the healthcare professionals who continuously work to save lives and take care of all patients despite the risks to their health, why not create these brightly color-blocked rainbow pumpkins?

Color Blocking is commonly used in the fashion and interior design world. In Fine Art's more technical terms, color blocking is the process of selecting opposite colors from the color wheel and juxtaposing them to create complementary color patterns. One artist known to pioneer this color-blocking style is Piet Mondrian, a minimalist and key figure in the modern art movement. 

Color blocking - Halloween Painting Ideas
Color Blocking Concept

Color blocking can be used in a multitude of things-in clothing combinations, abstract paintings, in collages, in costumes and even in your pumpkins this year! Painting with these rainbow colors will surely be an activity worth trying. To start, put away your carving tools and make sure that they're safely stored. Now, thoroughly clean and dry the surface of the pumpkin as this will serve as your fresh canvas. You can either prime your pumpkin using white paint or you can directly color block on them. Once your pumpkins are ready, create the bold complementary palettes associated with the color blocking technique and have fun mix-and-matching.

Line Art Pumpkins

Halloween Painting Ideas - Lie rt pumpkin
Line Art No-Carve Pumpkin for Halloween

A more fine pumpkin painting idea is the classic line art. This will not just be front-door worthy but can also be used as an art object to decorate your sitting room. With the proper tools, there's no limit to what you can paint with this project. To do this, make sure to clean and dry the surface of the pumpkin as if you're preparing to prime a fresh canvas. Choose a solid color that will serve as a background for your pumpkin line art. To create precise and detailed lines, use a super fine brush like the ones in our ZenART Fine Line Miniature Brush Set.

Line is the foundation of drawing and is considered to be a hallmark of the arts along with the six other visual elements. Line Art comprises fine solid lines devoid of shading and gradients, usually in black, and either drawn or painted over a plain background-this highlights the lines themselves. A notable artist who used this technique is Leonardo Da Vinci whose monochromatic sketches and studies always depict detailed line art. Pablo Picasso is another artist known for the strong dark lines in his paintings, paired with vibrant exaggerated colors. 

Painting on pumpkins using non-toxic paints is cost-effective, environmentally sustainable and brings out the artist in all of us. Also, pumpkins are food too. Once the festivities are over, perhaps turn those artful pumpkins into pumpkin gourmet?

Painting Halloween Masks

A long time ago, it is believed that ghosts walked the earth during Halloween. And so people started wearing masks after sundown to avoid being recognised by these ghosts. This is somehow similar to the Irish myth about Stingy Jack-spooky demonic faces were carved into large turnips and pumpkins every Halloween to ward off his wandering Earth-bound soul. This year, instead of costume masks with scary faces, how about we change things up?

Famous Portraits Masks

Create your mask - Halloween Painting Ideas
Creating Your Own Halloween Mask

Over time, Halloween evolved from a scary holy day into a fun widely celebrated tradition. A day that's full of festive activities like trick-or-treating, parties and costume planning. Now that we are to celebrate inside the safety of our homes with family or with a small group of friends, why not roleplay your favourite master artist for a day? You can be anyone-Leonardo Da Vinci, Van Gogh, Frida Kahlo, Salvador Dali, or Andy Warhol. You know what they say, when it's Halloween, you can become anything or anyone you want to be. Use the right brushes to accurately render their portraits. Remember, there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all artist's brush, have what you need with a set like our Black Tulip Professional Brush Set. 

Dia de los Muertos Masks

Halloween Painting Ideas - dia de los muertos masks
Dia de los Muertos Masks

Face painting has always been a regular activity during Halloween, and we all know it takes some artists' precise steady hands to limn designs directly on people's faces. Popular choices are the Dia de Los Muertos skull patterns, a scarecrow and even the Joker. This year, let's try to create something similar that we won't have to wash off at the end of the day.

The Day of the Dead honors both life and death and is celebrated every 1st of November in Latin America and anywhere there's a Latino population. Much like how we traditionally celebrate Halloween, Dia de Los Muertos is celebrated in Mexico with street parties, food, drinks and with colorful m'ascaras de calaveras or skull masks.

To paint these intricate details on your paper mask, just like our line art pumpkins, make sure to use a super fine brush like the ones in our ZenART Fine Line Miniature Brush Set. Let your imagination flow, the pattern options are endless.

Painting on a Journal

Pumpkin painting by Rachel Christopoulos @rachelsshope.co featuring ZenART Dotted Journal.

Mindful journaling is a good self-care habit. It encourages us to connect with our inner self, and switch off from the worrying negative news. It is a good practice as it aids in organising our thoughts, therefore, calming our minds. Regularly practising mindful journaling not only assists in retaining important information but also helps us become more focused on working towards our goals.

Art Journaling

Halloween art by Sumi San - Halloween Painting Ideas
Halloween Art by @sumi_san using ZenART B6 Sketchbook.

Artist and founder of The Creative Bones community Rachel Christopoulos (@rachelsshoppe.co) painted pumpkins for her journal as a reminder of the change of season. Rachel uses her ZenART Faux Leather-Bound Dotted Journal to plan out and do the studies of her paintings.

Halloween can also be a time to finally start the habit of journaling. HIATUS (@sumi_san), is a self-taught artist who regularly creates anime or cartoon-inspired art rendered beautifully in her ZenART sketchbook journal

Painting on pumpkins, painting masks and finally starting that long overdue art journaling habit-Halloween can still be fun when we try to innovate and open ourselves to trying out new ways to create and celebrate.

Which one of these ideas are you excited to try? Have queries about our non-toxic paints, quality brushes and dotted journal? Don't hesitate to reach out to us, we'd love to hear your thoughts. Take care and stay positive. Happy Halloween!


- MEET THE AUTHOR-
Ardak Kassenova, ZenART Supplies co-founder, @ardak_zenart

Ardak Kassenova is a London based contemporary artist, co-founder and creative director of ZenART Supplies. Her visual style-contemporary impressionism-share similar aesthetic qualities with those by the French Impressionists. After 20 years of a successful corporate career, becoming a mother to two wonderful girls, and with the continuous development of her practice by taking private lessons from the best artists she could find; Ardak decided it's time to align her life with her true passion, Art. Driven by this passion and her corporate leadership background, she co-founded ZenART.

"My heart and soul were always with Art, and since my childhood as long as I remember myself, I was dreaming to be an artist. I was painting after work, when I had time, and teaching myself through the books, videos, visiting art galleries and museums. I've been very curious about different techniques and styles, and therefore accumulated knowledge and experience on a variety of mediums." 

Read more about Ardak Kassenova in this feature. Say hello to @ardak_zenart on Instagram!


References and further reading:
Grannan, C., Britannica.com, Why do we carve pumpkins at Halloween - https://www.britannica.com/story/why-do-we-carve-pumpkins-at-halloween
Stewart, J. (2020) My Modern Met, Unwinding the Long History of Line Art - Unwinding the Long History of Line Art
Barnes, S. (2017) My Modern Met, How to Combine Drawing and Writing into Deeply Personal Art Journals - How to Combine Drawing and Writing into Deeply Personal Art Journals
ArtHistory.net, Face Painting - Face Painting
Hasbun, L., National Geographic, Dia De Los Muertos - https://www.nationalgeographic.org/media/dia-de-los-muertos/
History.com, Ancient Origins of Halloween - https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween

Special Discounts

ZenART's Membership Plans Terms & Conditions

(Updates effective 17/08/2020)

These terms and conditions (“Terms and Conditions”) govern the ZenART Supplies Rewards & Referral Plan as well as Subscribe & Save Plan (“Membership Plans”), and members of the programs will earn zen coins in connection with the purchase of qualifying online products and online activities that are redeemable towards the purchase of certain products online. For the re-occurring members (Subscribe & Save Plan) this includes exclusive gifts & content.

1. REWARDS & REFERRAL

  • Free. No purchase is necessary to obtain membership in the Rewards & Referral Program, but you must establish an account at https://shop.zenartsupplies.co/account/register . Please see our privacy policy, located here, to understand how information you provide us will be used. This program is void where prohibited.
  • Eligibility. In order to be eligible for the Rewards & Referral Program, you must create an account as outlined in these Terms and Conditions. You may create an account if you are at least seventeen (17) years of age, have Internet access, and have a valid mailing address. If you are between the ages of 17 and 18, you must have your parent’s permission to register for an account. If you choose to create an account, you are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account, username and password and for restricting access to your account. You are responsible for keeping such information current, complete, accurate and truthful. You agree to accept responsibility for all activities that occur under your account, username and/or password. You agree to provide only current, complete, accurate and truthful information. If you are accessing and using the Site on someone else’s behalf, you represent that you have the authority to bind that person as the principal to all Terms and Conditions provided herein, and to the extent you do not have such authority you agree to be bound to these Terms and Conditions and to accept liability for harm caused by any wrongful use of the Site or Content resulting from such access or use. You may only have one member account per natural person. Persons who are discovered to have more than one account forfeit their zen coins and will be unsubscribed from the Loyalty Program.
  • How To Enroll in the Rewards & Referral Program. (a) Create an account: Visit www.zenartsupplies.com (the "Site" or "Online") and become a registered user of the Site. Click here to be taken directly to the registration page. You will be asked for your first and last name, your email address, and a password. You will also be given the option to sign up for our newsletter. Once you have submitted the requisite information, you will be sent an email to the address you listed confirming your membership. Once you have confirmed your email address, you are automatically enrolled in the Reward & Referral Program and are a member (“Member”).
  • How to Access/Change Your Member Information. You must keep your personal information on your Account up-to-date. To do so, click on the "My Account" section and access your account by entering your registered email address and current password. From your dashboard you can access your account information; review your current and past orders; change your profile; manage your subscriptions and applications, and access your previous purchases.
  • How to Cancel Your Membership. You may cancel an account at any time. To cancel your account, please send an email to support@zenartsupplies.co and write “cancel membership” in the subject line. The email must come from the account currently listed on our servers as being associated with your Rewards & Referral Program. If you no longer have access to that email address, please email our customer service department and we will verify your status and cancel your account. Upon cancellation, you are no longer a member, and any unused zen coins accrued in your account will be forfeited and cannot be redeemed. Zen coins maintain their value only on valid accounts in good standing, and except as otherwise provided here for redemption, have no cash value outside of their redemption value on the Site.

2. EARNING ZEN COINS

  • General Members can earn zen coins on the purchase of qualifying online products at zenartsupplies.co. To receive zen coins for your Online purchases, you must be signed into your account. You may check at any time to see if you are signed in to the Site by looking in the upper right-hand corner of the site. Gift cards do not qualify for zen coins. Other products that do not qualify for zen coins are noted on the Site.
  • Earning Rate. Members earn 5 sen coins for every $1.00 spent on qualifying purchases (in other words, one (5) zen coins for every one dollar ($1) spent). Zen coins are based on your order subtotal, after any discounts, only. Zen coins are rounded down to the nearest whole number. For example, if you spend $9.99, you will receive 9 zen coins. The calculation is as follows: $9.99 x 1 zen coins per dollar = 9.99 zen coins, which is rounded down to 9 zen coins. This program started on August 17, 2020, and initial levels were set on the 2020 amount spent on ordering products. Note: Shipping and Taxes are not taken into consideration. If an item is return and/or price adjusted that will also be removed from your rewards calculations.
  • Gift Cards. Gift card purchases are not eligible to receive zen coins. However, once a gift card is redeemed, zen coins will be awarded to the recipient for the subtotal after any gift card values, provided s/he is logged into the account, as outlined in these Terms and Conditions.
  • Addition of Zen Coins to Accounts. Zen Coins will be added to your Account under the following conditions, and will generally show up immediately. You will receive zen coins:
    • At the time of account registration
    • During the purchase of qualifying products
    • For other activities outlined on the Site that may show up from time to time. Note that for these other activities, including “bonus zen coins” accumulations and other zen coin promotions, zen coins may show as “pending,” depending upon the activity.
    • Joining the Birthday Club. Birthdate must be entered 30 days before your Birthday to qualify.
    • For Liking the ZenART Supplies Facebook page and sharing the ZenART Supplies Facebook page with your following. This is good one time only.
    • Following ZenART Supplies on Instagram. This is good one time only.
    • Referring a friend to ZenART Supplies. Your account will be automatically awarded the discount only if the referral friend used the link sent to them from your referral account and makes a qualifying purchase. Discount will automatically be applied to account if stipulations are met.
  • Exclusions. Members earn zen coins only on the purchase price of: (i) qualifying online products. Calculation of zen coins excludes payment by the Member for shipping charges and all taxes, including without limitation, federal, state, and local taxes or use taxes. Zen Coins will not be earned on any discounts or other credits offered in connection with a product or service. For example, if a product that is normally $50 is on sale for $25, a Member will only earn zen coins on the purchase price of $25. Purchases of gift cards, redemption of vouchers, and any type of price adjustments, including merchandise returns, are not eligible for zen coins. All purchases made: (i) by a Member prior to such member joining the Program, (ii) Online without a Member being logged onto the Website with the Member's Account number linked to the Member's Online account, are not eligible for Reward & Referral Program credit. The purchase of ZenART Supplies products outside the Zenartsupplies.co website are not eligible for the Reward & Referral Program.
  • Returns/Order Cancellations. Zen Coins earned for a purchase that is then the subject of a return, cancellation, refund, declined credit card or gift card, or other credit will be deducted from your account in an amount equal to the zen coins earned for the original transaction, including any bonus zen coins that may be applicable. Any rewards discounts that are applied to the order, will be distributed equally to the applicable items in the order when completing a return. Zen Coins redeemed on an order will not be reapplied back to your rewards account for any reason on a returned order. If a return/cancellation will cause your account to have a negative zen coin balance, you will not begin earning zen coins again until your zen coins balance is returned to zero (0), by making purchases, or engaging in other promotional activities offered from time to time. If an item is exchanged (different product) any redeemed rewards on the initial purchase may be transferred to the exchange one (1) time only. Rewards used on an order that is canceled cannot be reapplied as they are good for just one use.
  • Bonus Zen Coins Promotions. From time to time, ZenART Supplies may run certain bonus zen coin promotions. Under bonus zen coin promotions, Members can earn additional or "bonus zen coins" in connection with the purchase of certain online products. When you purchase these specially marked products or make the purchase during a bonus zen coins time period, you will earn bonus zen coins on each product, as specified in the offer. Bonus zen coin promotions are subject to the terms and conditions of the offer and may be offered at any time in ZenART Supplies sole discretion. Bonus zen coin offers cannot be combined with any other offer.
  • Limitations on Bonus Zen Coins and Zen Coins, Generally. These terms apply to zen coins and bonus zen coins accruals. If you purchase a product during a promotion and the product comes with an additional, free product, zen coins will not be issued on the retail value of the free product. If you redeem zen coins towards the purchase of a product and pay a portion of the retail price after the zen coin's redemption, you will receive zen coins only on the leftover retail amount you pay, and not on any value attributed to the zen coin you used. If you redeem zen coins towards the purchase of a product in an amount equal to the full price of the product, you will not earn any zen coins.
  • Non-purchase Options for Earning Zen Coins. You may also earn additional zen coins on non-purchase activities. From time to time, ZenART Supplies may offer you the chance to win various prizes, and earn zen coins, for entering into promotions. For sweepstakes promotions, there is NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO PLAY OR TO WIN. Rules and restrictions will apply to such promotions and may be found on the entry page of any promotion.
  • Referring a friend to ZenART Supplies. Email a friend an $8 off coupon on $50 order by clicking “ Earn Zen Coins” then “ Refer a Friend”. Enter the email address of a friend who has not purchased with ZenART Supplies before (if your referral has shopped with us before the referral link will be automatically voided by the system). A referral link will be sent to your friend with an $8 off coupon on a $50 order. $8 off coupon on $50 order will automatically be rewarded to your account only if the referral friend used the link sent to them from your referral account and makes a qualifying first-time purchase with ZenART Supplies. Your Referral friend will receive an $8 off coupon on $50 order, 200 zen coins for signing up, and zen coins from their first purchase made while signed into their new ZenART Supplies account.

3. REDEEMING ZEN COINS

  • How To Use Your Zen Coins. Zen Coins must be used in increments outlined in these Terms and Conditions. The maximum number of zen coins that may be used in a single transaction is 10,000 zen coins. Zen Coins may only be used Online at the ZenART Supplies website. Zen Coins towards Products: Members can use their zen coins to reduce the purchase price of a product or to receive a product for free based on the following scale:
    • 500 zen coins = $5.00 off
    • 1,000 zen coins = $10.00 off your at least $50 order
    • 1,500 zen coins = $15.00 off your at least $50 order
    • 2,500 zen coins = $25.00 off your at least $50 order

    Zen Coins can only be redeemed in any combination of the zen coin and increment amounts set forth above. Redemption of zen coins towards purchases of products is subject to product availability. Any rewards discounts that are applied to the order, will be distributed equally to the applicable items in the order when completing a return.

  • Gift cards. Once available, zen coins cannot be used towards the purchase of gift cards. Gift card redemption, however, is eligible for zen coins. Zen Coins accrued pursuant to the use of a gift card will benefit the gift card user, provided the user has an account in accordance with these Terms and Conditions.
  • To Redeem your Zen Coins. Before you begin shopping with us, sign in to your Shop account on our site. Select “Redeem Zen Coins” from the red tab housed in the lower left-hand corner of the screen and select the amount of zen coins you would like to redeem. You will be issued a custom code that you can copy and paste into the discount bar during check out (Please note - only one code can be used). Your total payment amount will be discounted by the amount of zen coins you allocate to the purchase. Note that zen coins may only be redeemed for the purchase price of the product. Sales tax, shipping, and other handling charges assessed in addition to the price of the product are your responsibility and zen coins may not be used to discount these additional charges.
  • Exclusions. Only one account per natural person. Only one discount code can be redeemed per transaction. Rewards redemption codes may not be combined with any other discount codes. Zen Coins may not be transferred or gifted at this time. Zen Coins cannot be used on past purchases. Zen Coins accumulated on different accounts by different members may not be combined or aggregated to make purchases of products or for any other reason. Zen Coins earned in a transaction cannot be redeemed in the same transaction. Redeemed zen coins cannot be retroactively applied to any past order or receive a price adjustment on any order where redeemed zen coins were not applied. Zen Coins have no cash value outside of the ZenART Supplies website and are available only to members in good standing.
  • Zen Coins Expiration and Time Lapses. All zen coins acquired, whether standard zen coins or bonus zen coins, shall expire 180 days from the date the zen coins are added to your account. Zen Coins expire 180 days from the date in which they were assigned to your account. Specific onsite activities in which zen coins will be awarded are set to accrue zen coins based on a time-lapse at the discretion of ZenART Supplies.
    • Sign up: zen coins are added to your account instantly
    • Order: zen coins are added to your account when your order is placed.
  • Once zen coins are redeemed, a discount code will be assigned and we are unable to cancel the discount code and reapply the zen coins to your Reward & Referral account. Discount codes generated by redeeming zen coins do not expire until used. They are a one-time use code, so once it is used it is gone. If an order is returned zen coins will not be reinstated.

4. Subscribe & Save Plan

  • Re-occurring purchase. Purchase is necessary in order to participate in this plan. The plan is worth $6.95 and will be charged to your account on the same date of the month that you purchased the plan, i.e. if you purchased the plan on 19th of January, you will be charged for the plan on the 19th of each month you are a Subscribe & Save Plan member.
  • 15% re-occurring discount. As a member of the subscribe & Save Plan, you are eligible for a 15% discount every time you put an order in place. You are qualified for the discount as soon as you purchase the plan.
  • Cancellation. After a purchase made with a Subscribe & Save Plan, you are not able to get a refund for the plan for the month the purchase was valid for but you can cancel for the following months.
  • Free samples & accessories. These are included for members of Subscribe & Save Plan only. These are not included in each order but the member will be informed when they will receive "extras" in their order.
  • Access to exclusive content. Exclusive access to tutorials, guides, tips & tricks in video, pdf, or audio format will be part of the membership program. Not all exclusive content is available but what is and will be available is up to ZenART Supplies sole discretion.

5. GENERAL

  • By registering with Zenartsupplies.co and joining the Reward & Referral Program, you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions set forth in these Terms and Conditions, as well as any other terms that may be associated with the Reward & Referral Program. ZenART Supplies reserves the right to cancel, modify, suspend or restrict the Reward & Referral Program, your account, the redemption of zen coins, or any aspect of the Program, including, without limitation, the zen coin conversion ratio and the zen coin expiration policy at any time. Any changes can be made without advance notice. ZenART Supplies may make these changes even though such changes may affect your ability to use zen coins already accumulated. You are responsible for remaining knowledgeable about the Program Terms and Conditions. A Member's zen coins balance, as reflected in ZenART Supplies records, shall be deemed correct. ZenART Supplies reserves the right to determine the amount of zen coins in any Member's account based on ZenART Supplies' internal records related to such Member's account. In the event of an inconsistency between the amount accrued in a Member's account as stated on any Member's receipt and ZenART Supplies internal records, ZenART Supplies internal records will control. ZenART Supplies assumes no responsibility for errors caused by incorrect Member information. Your right to transfer zen coins earned or granted under the Program is strictly limited. The sale of zen coins is prohibited and may result in the confiscation or cancellation of your zen coins as well as suspension or termination of your membership, which in each case shall be final and conclusive. All transactions involving zen coins and all Member accounts are subject to review and verification by ZenART Supplies. The zen coins balance in a Member's account may be unavailable for use when an account or transaction is under review. ZenART Supplies may revoke any Member's membership in the Reward & Referral Program at any time if such Member engages in abuse of the Reward & Referral Program or fails to follow the terms and conditions of the Program. Fraud or abuse relating to the accrual of zen coins or redemption of rewards may result in revocation of membership in the Program and may affect a Member's eligibility for participation in any other ZenART Supplies program, present or future. Zen Coins are non-transferable and cannot be redeemed for cash. The interpretation and application of the Program's Terms and Conditions are at the sole discretion and determination of ZenART Supplies. For more information or other questions, click on Contact Us.
  • The Terms and Conditions of the loyalty program are subject to change at ZenART Supplies’ sole discretion at any time and without notice to customers. Upon customer’s at-will termination of their Zenartsupplies.com registered account, or if a customer is termination for violation of these Terms and Conditions or other activities in violation of the intent and good faith intended use of this Site, all zen coins will immediately be forfeited and will no longer be redeemable. ZenART Supplies will make reasonable efforts to award zen coins as outlined above to all 1. registered and 2. qualifying Zenartsupplies.co customers but is not responsible for any technical or unforeseen errors that may occur.
  • Zen Coins are nontransferable, nonredeemable for cash, are nonrefundable and are not valid outside of Zenartsupplies.co. Purchases made outside Zenartsupplies.co are not valid for zen coin accrual (this includes, but is not limited to Facebook resell groups, Ebay, and Amazon).
  • Employees of ZenART Supplies are not eligible to participate in the Reward & Referral Program.