moroccan spice bags : gouache ink resist

I'm just back from Marrakech, and honestly, I'm still processing it. The colour alone is enough to keep a painter busy for months — saffron yellow, paprika red, the deep earthy tones of cumin and turmeric piled into mounds in the souks. It's one of those places that gets under your skin in the best possible way.

It's become a little tradition of mine to come back from a retreat and paint something from the trip with you. A way of sharing the experience, and of keeping that creative energy alive a little longer. This week, that painting is inspired by something we spotted on our very first day — small, beautiful spice bags, bundled and stacked in one of the souks. They were so tactile and rich in colour that they practically demanded to be painted.

A technique I've been wanting to share with you

This lesson also introduces something a little different. I've been promising to bring you new painting styles from time to time, and this one is a favourite — a combination of gouache, Indian ink and watercolour that produces something really special.

Here's how it works: you paint your subject in gouache first, then apply Indian ink over the top and let it dry. When you remove the gouache, it lifts away to reveal clean, bright areas beneath — and those become your lights. Then you add watercolour washes over everything to bring in the colour and warmth.

The result has a gorgeous, rustic quality — almost like a woodblock print. There's something wonderfully unpredictable about it too, which I think you'll love.

You can see in this photo how striking that resist stage looks on its own. The ink creates strong, graphic lines and shapes, and it's satisfying even before the watercolour goes on. Once you add those washes, the whole thing comes alive.

Why this technique is worth trying

If you've never worked with a resist technique before, this is a lovely one to start with. It encourages you to think about your lights early on — which is always good practice in watercolour — and it produces results that look far more complex than the process actually is. It works beautifully for florals, still lifes, buildings, and landscapes too, so once you've got the hang of it, you'll find yourself reaching for it again and again.

Want to paint along?

The full step-by-step video tutorial for this painting is available over on my Patreon. I walk you through the whole process from start to finish — the gouache stage, applying and drying the ink, the removal, and then building up the watercolour layers to get that warm, souk-market feel.

If you'd like to join me there, I'd love to have you. Patreon members get access to my full library of video tutorials, with new lessons added regularly. It's a lovely little community of painters, and a great place to keep your practice going between retreats.

Happy painting!