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A white woman with brown hair and wearing a white tshirt is smiling at the camera. She's holding up her watercolor sketchbook of white buildings in the Albaicín (which are behind her).

Hi, I'm Emma Bolton

I'm an artist and writer based in Granada, Spain. I create lasting memories from everyday moments using bright colours and lots of heart.

My newsletter, Sketches from Granada, celebrates moments of connection with strangers, friends and ourselves.  I know how easy it is not to be present in your own life, and I hope these sketches inspire you to seek out those moments that are worth savouring. 

Reading Sketches from Granada brings a sense of calm. It’s something I read over and think on when I want a break. It manages to convey the joy of small pleasures and how difficult it can be at times with work / life to fully appreciate them. Emma is actively living an engaged life and it’s a pleasure to follow that via her newsletter.

Louise Johnston

Sketches from Granada is all about contemplating joy and beauty in life - the big ideas and the everyday little joys that we often forget to take the time to notice. Following Emma’s journey invites pause and reflection, I'll always save reading Sketches from Granada until I have a moment of quiet to savour it completely.

Meredith H

Featured

The 2026 Granada Sketching Retreat is open for booking!

The 2026 Granada Sketching Retreat is open for booking!

Build your sketching confidence and style by connecting to place
Conversations with strangers in Spanish

Conversations with strangers in Spanish

Reflecting on day 1 of our 2025 Granada Sketching Retreat
Mirador de San Nicolás

Mirador de San Nicolás

Painting Granada's most iconic view of the Alhambra

Latest

Feb 05
A list of 8 finished books in a Pagebound Library with their covers, including Starling House by Alix E. Harrow and Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid.

How do you keep track of what you read?

When the process is the point
8 min read
Jan 31
Watercolour sketch by Emma Bolton of the Alhambra, Granada and the fountain in Paseo de los Tristes. A man is sketching on a low wall.

Paseo de los Tristes

Sketching "the most romantic place in Granada" in the winter sun
3 min read
Jan 26
Two watercolour sketches of white buildings in the Albaicín in two-point perspective. The buildings have brown roofs, wooden doors and are under a bright blue sky.

The 2026 Granada Sketching Retreat is open for booking!

Build your sketching confidence and style by connecting to place
1 min read
Jan 19
A hand holding an A5 sketchbook open over a pool with reflections of trees. The landscape sketch by Emma Bolton is of a turquoise ocean, pink sand and greenery in the foreground.

The Sunshine Coast

Spend the day at the beach with me
4 min read
Jan 12
A watercolour painting of the pomegranate fountain in central Granada by Emma Bolton on a background of leaves.

Fuente de las Granadas

Painting Granada's pomegranate fountain
2 min read
Jan 05
A white woman wearing glasses and a denim jacket is smiling at the camera. In the distance is the Alhambra palace and Granada.

A different kind of year in review

Celebrating the moments that made 2025 meaningful
5 min read
Nov 26
A dark grey bird with its yellow beak open and wings outspread is perched on the end of a mossy log. Small feathers in jewel greens and purples cover its back.

Starling House

A review of Alix E. Harrow's 2023 gothic fantasy novel
3 min read
Nov 06
Watercolour sketch by Emma Bolton of Carolina Bouquet flower stand in Bib Rambla, Granada. Behind the stand are lush trees and a tall white apartment block under a cobalt sky.

Conversations with strangers in Spanish

Reflecting on day 1 of our 2025 Granada Sketching Retreat
6 min read
Oct 22
Watercolour painting of two tourists with their backs to the viewer, and their dog, at Montserrat in Spain by emma bolton.

Montserrat

Painting the monastery and monoliths at one of Catalonia's most iconic sites.
3 min read
Sep 29
Watercolour painting of three people sitting on the edge of a grey wall looking over a terracotta roof to the Alhambra and Sierra Nevada by Emma Bolton.

Mirador de San Nicolás

Painting Granada's most iconic view of the Alhambra
4 min read
Sep 18
Watercolour painting of the entrance to Parc Güell in Barcelona by emma bolton, the corresponding print, and colour swatches.

Painting Parc Güell

Getting inspired by Gaudí's architecture in Barcelona
3 min read
Aug 20
A copy of the book Mujeres que arden by María Esclapez on a wooden background. The book has a black cover with gold and pink details.

Women who burn: reading my first novel in Spanish

What I learned from reading Mujeres que arden by María Esclapez.
4 min read

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