Seeing jack-o-lanterns around neighborhoods is a surefire way to get in the Halloween spirit, but what about a pumpkin with a perfectly carved face in it? Meet Deane Arnold, a renowned sculptor whose medium is the fall staple.
Finding the right pumpkin with a little bit of character is the best way for Arnold to turn it into a character. His ability to transform a regular pumpkin into a sculpted jack-o-lantern is remarkable.
Arnold grew up in Dutchess County, and enjoyed a career doing illustration.
"I did a lot of advertising and marketing stuff," he said. "But the fine art on the side was still always, almost always, painting.”
That all changed when he first saw an immaculately sculpted pumpkin.
“It was looking back at me," Arnold explained.
Thirteen years later, he's competed on shows like "Halloween Wars" and had his work featured on "Outrageous Pumpkins."
But it’s not the limelight that Arnold enjoys.
“The appreciation that I get from my peers is more important to me than just having somebody coming up and saying, ‘Hey, that's really great.’ And then they wander away and they get a hotdog,” he said.
One of the things Arnold really loves about pumpkin sculpting is the fact that anybody can do it. He says that it puts a smile on his face when he brings kids up and lets them use his tools for a little bit, and they can realize their own creative potential.
“What I'm doing makes people happy and smile," he said. "What if they try it for themselves? It will make them happy and it will make them smile.”