Introduction to Islamic Art: Create Biomorphic Patterns
Painting Motifs
A course by Esra Alhamal , Artist, Educator, and Podcaster
Joined May 2021
About the video: Painting Motifs
Overview
“In this lesson, you will learn how to paint the biomorphic motifs that you drew earlier.”
In this video lesson Esra Alhamal addresses the topic: Painting Motifs, which is part of the Domestika online course: Introduction to Islamic Art: Create Biomorphic Patterns. Delve into the rich history of Islamic art to draw and paint intricate patterns that honor tradition and encourage experimentation.
Partial transcription of the video
“Painting Motifs In this lesson, we'll talk about painting and I’ll show you how to paint a quarter of your pattern. As you remember, in the last lesson, we traced a little slice of our pattern. I carried on tracing and I've traced the quarter. But I hope you have the full "shamsa," right there on your paper. I’ll start with my watercolour brush. I'm using size 4 as our design is quite large and it's on A3 paper. I would recommend that you use a size 2. I'll dip my brush in the water. Have clean water. Mine is a bit coloured, but that's fine. I’ll start with orange ochre. I'm using watercolo...”
This transcript is automatically generated, so it may contain mistakes.
Course summary for: Introduction to Islamic Art: Create Biomorphic Patterns
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Category
Illustration -
Areas
Drawing, Ink Illustration, Painting, Pattern Design, Watercolor Painting

Esra Alhamal
A course by Esra Alhamal
Saudi artist, educator, and podcaster Esra Alhamal has dedicated her career to traditional Islamic art, experimenting with her own contemporary edge. She has a Bachelor’s of Arts in Interior Design, and a Master’s of Arts in Interior Architecture from London, where she is based. It was during her master’s that Esra spent her spare time taking Islamic pattern classes at the Prince's School of Traditional Arts.
Now a PhD candidate on the topic of traditional Islamic art history, she is determined to make the craft accessible and inspire others. She does so by sharing her expertise through workshops on the educational platform she founded, Islamic Illumination, and via her weekly podcast, Art Illuminated, which has received more than 15K downloads. Esra’s work has been exhibited in Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Bahrain, and she has participated in collaborative shows in London. Alongside her art career and PhD, Esra set up Bristle & Brush with her husband, a business that makes natural and plastic-free watercolors.
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