His pumpkins show icons in a different light

Nate Johnson carves pumpkins for his porch, but not into the usual ghouls and goblins of Halloween.

Johnson, 29, picks on the living.

The West Philadelphia graphic designer cuts surprisingly realistic portraits of pop-culture icons and politicians. He chooses subjects who have hogged the headlines. This year, of course, he featured Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama - scaaary, no doubt, depending on one's politics.

"You can glorify someone with a pumpkin carving or demonize someone," he said from his home studio during a lunch break from his job at the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. "It's a fine line."

His take on the presidential candidates?

"I'm aiming to make this guy look good," the registered Democrat said as he pointed to Obama's smiling mug, "and this guy look OK." He thumbed his hand at McCain's profile, which, in all fairness, showed off his better side.

Johnson, who designs invitations for the chamber and paints classical oil portraits (both pet and human) but has never sculpted, became a pumpkin carver on a whim.

"It was our first Halloween party," he said. That was four years ago. Henry Kissinger was in the news a lot, he said.

Soon the elder statesman's face was on a big ol' pumpkin. "I thought it would be really fun," Johnson said, later adding: "I think Kissinger is a pretty scary dude."

Last year, he featured Mayor Nutter, who got the glory treatment. "I love him," Johnson said. "I wanted to do my best." A picture of the then-candidate with his signature smile on Johnson's Web site (http://natejohnsondesign.com/pumpkins.php) made the online rounds of his friends and friends' friends.

He hopes the mayor somehow saw it. (Nutter's assistant did not respond to a request for a comment.) Johnson knows Stephen Colbert did. In fact, the political funnyman immediately recognized Nutter, who appeared on The Colbert Report during the presidential primaries, and had to have a pumpkin himself. Of himself.

Johnson delivered it yesterday to Colbert's office in New York.

Another year, Johnson showcased TomKat, as in Tom Cruise and Katie Homes, "the ultimate scary couple," he said. Cruise was his most challenging creation. (Those strands of hair and chiseled features require care.)

Johnson's girlfriend, Jessica Baumert, 30, a historic preservationist, loves this, he said. "She gets a nice, decorated porch on Halloween."

Colleagues also have taken notice.

"I was just blown away," said Rebecca Warburton, the manager of programs and events at the chamber, where this time of year Johnson's coworkers wonder who will get the jack-o'-lantern treatment. "He's really good at capturing the essence of the person."

Although the carving takes only a couple of hours, Johnson said, the whole process, from conception to porch-ready, requires weeks of prep.

After Johnson settles on a subject (or target), he searches the Web for a tight close-up. Then he uses a computer drawing program to create a black-and-white stencil, a time-consuming task.

Close to Halloween, Johnson buys pumpkins. Last weekend, he went to Linvilla Orchards in Delaware County, where for $19.99 customers could get all they could carry 20 feet. He said he had managed four hefties, probably 120 pounds or more.

He also met his first professional pumpkin carver there. "I had no idea there was a community of pumpkin carvers," he said.

Back home, Johnson traces the stencil onto the pumpkin with a fountain pen that has a sharp nib.

Finally, he sculpts. Johnson uses the cheap saw tools sold in big-box stores to slice the orange flesh, often the day before Halloween. The carvings last only about three days, max, he said.

Johnson takes pride in the details: the stray strand of hair across Cruise's forehead, Nutter's smile, McCain's brow, Obama's gaze.

Unlit, the image - done in reverse like a film negative - is hard to make out. But once illuminated with candles, the face comes to life.

"It's kitschy and pop," Johnson said. "It's neat when friends say, 'That looks just like . . .' "