Fife artist takes on unique Hallowe’en challenge

Caroline Blackler started the Pittenweem Pumpkin Challenge at the beginning of the month, pushing herself to design 31 pumpkins over the course of October.

Creating three designs on each pumpkin, Caroline has so far done a mix of typical spooky scenes and landmarks from across north east Fife, such as Anstruther’s Dreel Halls and St Andrews cathedral.

“Last year, I carved a pumpkin and I took to it,” said Caroline. “I thought it was interesting how you could make some good designs.

“It’s good to explore tonal effects, because you only have one colour. It’s a challenge. If you make a mistake, you make a mistake.”

The other challenging aspect of using pumpkins is their limited shelf life.

The pumpkins which have passed their best have been put in the compost, but Caroline would like to give them away in the future.

And while this is the first time Caroline has done the challenge, she hopes other people might take part in the future, creating their own unique designs over the course of October.

At the time of writing, Caroline had completed 15 pumpkins, with 16 still to do.

She is having to work quicker than usual, as she would usually spend around a month working on one of her paintings.

Another challenge she is doing, painting scenes of the Firth of Forth, is less time restricted.

“I am aiming to do 50 of them,” Caroline explained.

“I’ve done 15 so far, but I’ve got the rest of my life to do it.”

Caroline shares her completed works on the Moti Black Facebook page – and she says she has been motivated by the support online.

“It keeps me going,” she said.

Caroline will be showing off more of her work at the East Neuk Open Studios winter showcase, at the parish church in Pittenweem. For more details, visit motiblack.blogspot.com.