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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 posts

Conversations with strangers in Spanish

Conversations with strangers in Spanish

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

Mirador de San Nicolás

Painting Granada's most iconic view of the Alhambra
How to start travel sketching

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.

Latest posts

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 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
Aug 04
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

Connection to place isn't something I actively realised I was missing until it bloomed in this house in Granada. So here is my ode to this home, constructed of hundreds of moments of repeating yet shifting experiences.
4 min read
Jul 21
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.
4 min read
Jul 06
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
3 min read
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

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