Moroccan spice bags

About This Painting

A pot of primroses — vivid purple petals with yellow centres, set against a terracotta pot and a cast shadow that ties the whole scene together. The painting is built in careful layers: centres first, then petals, then pot, then leaves, then detail and shadows. The shadow is genuinely the star of the painting and is what elevates the scene from a simple flower study to something with real atmosphere.

A traceable drawing is available in the lesson description.

The Pencil Drawing

Draw the flower centres first and position them correctly, then shape petals outward from each centre. Vary the angle each flower faces — some towards you (round centres), some to the side (oval centres), some partly away. Avoid having all flowers face the same direction, which reads as stiff and unnatural.

Mark in the shadows carefully in the drawing — the cast shadow shape along the wall and any shadows on the pot. Making these decisions at the drawing stage means you can paint freely without having to stop and analyse while the brush is in your hand.

The pot's ellipses: The bottom of the pot has a pronounced curve (you're looking slightly down at it); the lip at the top is much flatter. The further an ellipse is below eye level, the rounder it appears.

Colour Palette

Flower centres (yellows): Lemon yellow (cool, for centres in full light), Hansa yellow medium (warm), Hansa yellow deep (warmest, for centres in shadow). A mix of yellow and permanent violet makes a dull brown for the small star-shaped markings.

Petals (purples): Permanent violet (main colour), quinacridone rose (for pinks), perylene violet (for a deeper variation). Vary these within and across flowers.

Pot: Quinacridone sienna or burnt sienna (terracotta base), natural sienna or raw sienna (sunny side), burnt umber or sepia (darker areas), ultramarine and quinacridone sienna mixed for a granulating grey-brown at the base.

Leaves (greens): Green gold (lightest, warmest), sap green (mid), sap green mixed with ultramarine (darkest, deepest shadow areas).

Stems and bud cups: Permanent violet mixed with burnt umber — a dull, muted purple-brown.

Shadows: Ultramarine and quinacridone sienna (heavily diluted, warm grey), with reflected colours from the petals (permanent violet, pink) and pot (quinacridone sienna) dropped in while wet.

Extra Tool: Scoring Tool

A dotting tool (used for nail art and mandala work — available cheaply online) or the back of a brush handle is used to score leaf veins while the leaf wash is still wet. The scored groove fills with pigment and creates natural-looking veins.

Painting Order

1. Flower centres — yellows
2. Petals — purples and pinks
3. Pot — terracotta, varied earth tones
4. Leaves — greens with scored veins
5. Stems and bud cups
6. Flower centre details — star marks and shadows
7. Petal shadows
8. Leaf darks
9. Ground wash
10. Cast shadow
11. Pen work and optional splatter

Step 1: Flower Centres

Paint all yellow centres with lemon yellow first — a loose, free wash. Once slightly damp (not soaking), drop in Hansa yellow medium and Hansa yellow deep for warmth and shadow variation. Don't rush — if the paint is still too wet the colour will spread and take over. A thicker, more concentrated drop of the deeper yellow in the shadowed part of each centre gives immediate depth.

Dry with a hairdryer before starting the petals.

Step 2: Petals

Use a large brush and work loosely — the structured drawing underneath means you don't need to think about shapes, only colour. Block in each flower with the main purple, then immediately drop in the pink and deeper violet while still wet. Let them merge on the paper. Leave small white gaps especially around the centres, which have a white halo in the reference. Let adjacent flowers bleed into each other where they meet — the shadows stage will separate them later.

Work fast to keep the paint wet enough for the dropped colours to move. Let dry naturally — don't use a hairdryer until the colour movement has settled, as drying mid-movement makes flowers look different to those that dried naturally.

Step 3: The Pot

Load a large brush with the terracotta colour and fill the whole pot as quickly as possible so it's still wet at the far end when you begin dropping in other colours. While still wet: add natural sienna on the sunny side, burnt umber in various places for age and texture, and a warm grey (ultramarine and quinacridone sienna) along the base to add weight and groundedness. The granulating pigments will create texture as they dry. Lift out a highlight on the sunny side with a clean, almost-dry brush before it dries.

Step 4: Leaves

Paint each leaf section quickly with green gold as the base. While still wet, drop in sap green and the dark sap-ultramarine mix in shadow areas. Immediately use the scoring tool to press in the main leaf veins — the pigment runs into the grooves as it dries. The faster you work, the wetter the wash stays and the more freely the colours merge.

Step 5: Stems and Bud Cups

A small brush with the purple-brown mix (permanent violet and burnt umber). These small connecting elements tie the flowers and leaves together.

Step 6: Flower Centre Details

Clean the palette of all greens. Mix a dull brown from yellow and a touch of permanent violet for the small star-shaped lines radiating from each centre. Use quinacridone sienna for any orange accents. A fine brush, working loosely — just enough detail to show you really looked at the flowers, not a botanical illustration.

Step 7: Petal Shadows

Apply permanent violet (wet on dry, so there's no rush) to the shadow areas on the petals. This is what separates one flower from another and gives each petal its form. Start light — layers can be built up but can't be removed. Work slowly and observantly, referring to the reference photo for shadow positions.

Step 8: Leaf Darks

Apply a thick, concentrated mix of sap green and ultramarine into the deepest shadow areas within the leaf mass — under overlapping leaves, at the base near the pot. These darks anchor the foliage.

Step 9: Ground Wash

A very dilute warm grey across the ground area beneath the pot, keeping it understated so all the colour energy stays in the flowers. Consider the page balance — if the shadow falls heavily to one side, extend the ground wash in that direction too.

Step 10: The Cast Shadow

This is the step that transforms the painting. Make sure everything is completely dry first and redraw shadow outlines if they've been lost under the paint.

Load a large brush with the warm grey (ultramarine and quinacridone sienna, very dilute). Work across the whole shadow area as continuously as possible, using just the tip of the brush with a light touch so the shape of the shadow edge stays interesting and lively. While still wet, drop in reflected colours — violet from the petals, quinacridone sienna from the pot — at different points within the shadow. The shadow on the pot itself can be slightly warmer (more brown in the mix) than the shadow on the wall (cooler and greyer).

Use one well-loaded brush for the main shadow and a second for the reflected colours. Work fast and don't overthink it. Add a single thick dark line along the rim of the pot where it meets the shadow to sharpen that edge.

Let dry naturally.

Step 11: Pen Work and Splatter

Dark brown ink: Shadow sides only, mostly on the pot — along the bottom edge, sharpening the cast shadow line, any areas that need subtle definition. The pigment-based ink blends naturally into the watercolour. Keep it minimal — the viewer shouldn't be able to tell pen was used.

White Posca marker or white gel pen: Small highlights — sparkle on flower centres, light catching the pot rim. Shake Posca markers with lid on before use.

Optional splatter: A small amount of violet and pink, concentrated around the flower area only. Very easy to overdo — err on the side of too little.