Feast Your Eyes on These Works of Art From This ‘Pumpkin Picasso’

Pumpkins are very popular this time of year – whether they become pies or decorative pieces for the porch. For one man, Ray Villafane, pumpkin carving is about creating works of art. The Wall Street Journal named him, “The Picasso of pumpkin carving.”

And with Halloween only weeks away, Villafane, who is mostly known for sculpting toys and collectibles, is busy creating pumpkin masterpieces that range from the silly to the grotesque.

Pumpkin carving began for Villafane while teaching art class to kindergarten through high school. Every Halloween his students would bring pumpkins instead of apples for their favorite teacher to carve which grew into an annual tradition. Since then Villafane has created a side business out of pumpkin carving. He’s achieved world-wide fame as a pumpkin sculptor – not to mention the two-time champion of the Food Network’s challenge show Outrageous Pumpkins.

Villafane’s pumpkins pay homage to characters from the big screen.

Some of them even resemble famous movie stars.

They can be found inside a cactus…

…or from the imagination.

It seems there’s plenty of monkeying around at Villafane Studios.

Is gorilla-ing around a thing?

There is a scary clown epidemic going around the country…and the world.

Arrrrrr-t is fun!!

Look at these goofy gourds.

A gallery of his creations including sand and toy sculptures can be found here.

Villafane also gets involved with the community. Watch him and his team gear up for their annual pumpkin contest competing for the “best pumpkin scene” at his Villafane Studios in Carefree, Arizona. The video was posted live on Facebook.