'Picasso of Pumpkin Carvers' brings artistry to a Halloween tradition
The master carver says detailed pumpkins can weigh 100 to 300 pounds and turn a seasonal craft into gallery-style art.
- Systems engineer Mike Valladao, known as the 'Picasso of Pumpkin Carvers,' celebrated 40 years of Halloween artistry this year at the Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival.
- Valladao stumbled into his artistic hobby in the mid-1980s at his San Jose home after growing massive gourds and deciding to slice faces into them.
- Using Atlantic pumpkins weighing up to 1,000 pounds, Valladao creates three-dimensional art through shallow or deep carving. 'It's really about the illusion of depth,' he said.
- His skill set has taken him to the San Diego Zoo and California Academy of Sciences, venues where he approaches carving as engineering, building creations one layer at a time.
- Despite the ephemeral nature of his art, Valladao has no plans to retire, saying 'It's fun, it's enjoyable and, quite frankly, it's a piece of me.
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The Seattle Times‘Picasso of Pumpkin Carvers’ brings artistry to a Halloween tradition
Carving pumpkins is a Halloween tradition. Mike Valladao has turned it into a joyful form of art. Known as the “Picasso of Pumpkin Carvers,” Valladao has been chiseling whimsical faces and creatures into big pumpkins for more than four decades. This year, “Farmer Mike” celebrates 40 years of Halloween artistry at the Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival, which is best known for its giant pumpkin weigh-off. Valladao doesn’t have any formal artist…
‘Picasso of Pumpkin Carvers’ brings artistry to a Halloween tradition – WTOP News
HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (AP) — When fall arrives and leaves start changing color, Mike Valladao, a systems engineer at a cybersecurity company, slips into his alter ego, “Farmer Mike,” also known as the “Picasso of Pumpkin Carvers.” Farmer Mike has been chiseling whimsical faces and comical creatures into big pumpkins for more than four...
'Picasso of Pumpkin Carvers' brings artistry to a Halloween
HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (AP) — When fall arrives and leaves start changing color, Mike Valladao, a systems engineer at a cybersecurity company, slips into his alter ego, “Farmer Mike,” also known as the “Picasso of Pumpkin
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