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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

2025
/ Apr 2025
Six colour wheels using different combinations of pink, yellow and blue watercolours by emma bolton. Watercolor brush and palette.

Reconnect to yourself with colour

I first picked up a paintbrush as a form of self-care, and it’s something I return to again and again in my practice. When I’m feeling low on energy and need to reconnect with my body, I love to play with colour.
2025
/ Apr 2025
Countdown of 15 days left of work in Hong Kong! Quote about hope by Václav Havel, Czech Dissident, Writer & Statesman.

The self-care habit I stopped to find more ease

2025
/ Apr 2025
Whimsical watercolour painting of a large stone gate with pink tones and purple shadows. Two tiny people stand in front of the gate, which is framed by greenery.

Painting the Gate of Justice

The Gate of Justice or la Puerta de la Justicia is my favourite way to enter the Alhambra palace in Granada.  Built in 1348, it’s the largest of the four gates in the Alhambra’s walls. Like so much of the architecture at the Alhambra, its layers mix the work of different peoples, times and faiths.
2025
/ Apr 2025
A brown leather belt with a silver buckle. The leather is slightly worn. Photo by L S on Unsplash.

In which a beloved belt gets its second wind

2025
/ Mar 2025
People walking across a large, busy square surrounded by naked trees and pastel-coloured apartment blocks. A fountain is featured in the centre and it's a sunny day.

In which I sketch Granada’s busiest square and travel to 1970s New York

The last few weeks we’ve had an inordinate amount of rain in Granada. So when my urban sketching group
2025
/ Mar 2025
A black dog with brown eyes lies curled up on a blue couch and grey blanket. She is wearing a red collar and her brown eyes are staring at the camera.

In which I order two hearts and my dog learns to six

2025
/ Mar 2025
A mass of yellow and white daffodils in their prime in front of a red stone wall. It has recently rained.

Take a moment for inspiration, joy or curiosity