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Newsletter archive

2025
/ Aug 2025
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

2025
/ Aug 2025
A gouache sketch of an entryway with mint green walls, a tiled staircase, plants and a wooden window and door. An edge cutter and a white card with plant illustrations.

An ode to home

2025
/ Jul 2025
Watercolour sketch of various sketching materials, including a sketchbook, watercolour palette, water brush and microfibre cloth on a dark pink background.

How to start travel sketching

Key things to consider before, during and after your trip to help you start to develop your own travel sketching practice. Plus, download your travel sketching kit.
2025
/ Jul 2025
View of a beautiful white palace on the side of a hill under a blue sky. It's surrounded by greenery.

The point of travel

What I want to do when I visit you in your city
2025
/ Jun 2025
Bright watercolour painting of the Court of the Myrtles at the Alhambra, Granada by Emma Bolton. Watercolour palette and brush.

Painting the Court of the Myrtles

As soon as I finished painting the Comares Palace at the Alhambra, I knew I had to paint the view from the other side of the Court of the Pool. When you enter the courtyard, you're drawn to the reflections in the enormous central pool, which is framed by thirty-metre-long myrtle bushes.
2025
/ Jun 2025
Two white women sitting in a coffee shop in the Albaicín in Granada and holding up watercolour sketches with big smiles.

Granada Sketching Retreat l 23-27 October 2025

Julia Henze and I are hosting a Sketching Retreat in Granada from 23 to 27 October 2025. We'd love you to join us as we immerse ourselves in the beauty of this city with a community of like-minded sketchers.
2025
/ Jun 2025
An open sketchbook showing two urban scenes. Two people walking past a navy house with a eucalyptus trees and a yellow restaurant called Colón.

Why I make art

I started painting as a form of self-care when I was burnt out during the acute phase of the pandemic. Since art is a passion I've developed as an adult, it's fascinating to consider why it's become so important to me. So, here are the key reasons I keep picking up a paintbrush.
2025
/ Jun 2025
Emma Bolton wearing glasses, a blue puffer jacket and a green bag and smiling at the camera in the Albaicín.

The question Spanish people don't ask that helped me to find myself

2025
/ May 2025
Bright watercolour painting of the Court of the Pool at the Alhambra, Granada by Emma Bolton. Watercolour palette and brush on a pink background.

Painting the Court of the Pool

One of the highlights of any visit to Granada is the Court of the Pool. It's a combination of all the best parts of the Alhambra: glorious colours, water features and attention to detail.
2025
/ May 2025
The Court of the River at the Generalife in Granada. In front of the two-storey white palace are gardens, a long fountain and archways.

Painting a portal to the past

Since I was a kid, I've been fascinated by the possibility that you might open an old wardrobe or get lost in an overgrown garden and find yourself in another world. If there were a portal to another time or place in Granada, then an archway at the Generalife would be the perfect place for it.
2025
/ May 2025
An A5 spiral notebook with red and yellow blocks and beige and pale blue flowers, together with a sunflower yellow Lamy fountain pen on a pale pink background.

Write out the song lyrics by hand

2025
/ Apr 2025
Close-up of a Spanish tortilla on a white plate, photographed by blackieshoot on Unsplash.

In which we visit the egg shop