This complete artist's guide to gourd painting provides authoritative advice on a wide range of colour media, from craft acrylics and artist's oils to dyes, pastels and marking pens. Ten step-by-step projects use a wide variety of gourd decoration techniques to create natural, seasonal decor like bird houses, centrepieces, containers and more. Featuring bright and clear project photography, Painting Gourds explores a wide variety of colouration options for each gourd decoration method. Ten step-by-step projects show how create natural, seasonal decor using painting, carving and pyrography techniques. Author and nationally recognized artist Lora S. Irish explains all the basics of gourd art including safety, cleaning, cutting, surface prep, transferring designs and finishing. Readers will learn to make delightful centrepieces, candle lights, jars, vases and decorative musical instruments, as well as birdhouses, feeders and fun little bee houses for the garden.