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Granada

Jun 22
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.
2 min read
Jun 15
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.
1 min read
Jun 01
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

5 min read
May 25
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.
2 min read
May 18
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.
3 min read
Apr 27
Close-up of a Spanish tortilla on a white plate, photographed by blackieshoot on Unsplash.

The huevería

In which we visit the egg shop
3 min read
Apr 10
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.
3 min read
Apr 06
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

We go to our local shoe repair store to see if they can fix my husband’s leather belt. Its
3 min read
Mar 30
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
4 min read
Mar 23
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

A few weeks ago we took our dog, Skye, to a café for the first time. Every time I go for coffee in Granada, I see dogs lazing under café tables or calmly waiting for snacks to fall into their mouths, but for Skye this was a big deal.
3 min read
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