Alicia Prado was born in Madrid but grew up in Málaga, and the city holds a special place in her gallery: more than forty paintings in the collection Beautiful Málaga cover its monuments, beaches, gardens and the villages of the province. Here is a walk through Málaga in those watercolours, from the Alcazaba to Huelin beach.

The historic centre

The walk begins where the city's history begins. The Alcazaba appears in two paintings: Alcazaba of Málaga, with its walls in blazing ochres and yellows, and Málaga's Alcazaba, with walls and towers in toasted tones under an intense blue. A little higher up, Málaga from the Castle looks over the city from Gibralfaro, with a gate in the walls in the foreground.

Down in the centre you will find Málaga Cathedral, seen from the gate of the Patio de los Naranjos on calle Cañón; Calle Molina Lario; the La Equitativa building lit by a golden light; the arched wall of the Atarazanasmarket; and the narrow Calle San Agustín, which opens onto a tower bathed in light. In the Plaza de la Merced, the square where Picasso was born, Alicia painted the General Torrijos obelisk surrounded by the trees of the square.

Pasaje Chinitas has two paintings of its own. In Pasaje Chinitas passers-by walk between ochre and reddish façades, and in A Bit of Shade at Pasaje Chinitas the scene is covered with green and red striped awnings, with people gathered in the shade. That summer shade returns in Under the Awning, a terrace under a turquoise awning with barely suggested figures. And if you prefer a more intimate version, In the Streets of Málaga is a monochrome watercolour in sepia tones.

The sea and the fishermen

Málaga looks out to sea, and so does a good part of the collection. To the west is Huelin: Huelin Beach, with its strip of earth-toned sand, and Fisherman at Huelin, with a fisherman beside his boat and the nets spread at his feet. Fishing boats and the people who work them take centre stage in Fishermen, La Traíña and Hauling in the Net, a beach scene with men and children pulling in the net.

To the east you will find the breakwater at El Palo beach on a calm morning, the little harbour of El Candado with its stone lighthouse, a sunset at La Caleta and, at the edge of the city, La Araña beach under a sky of pink clouds. The Port offers a panoramic view, with the cranes silhouetted against a pale sky.

Following the coast eastwards, Boats at Rincón shows several boats pulled up on the sand of a beach in Rincón de la Victoria, beside palm trees and a golden rock.

Gardens and parks

Málaga is green too. The Concepción Botanical Garden inspired two paintings: Botanical Garden Pavilion, a columned pavilion reflected in a long pond, and Nymph of La Concepción Garden, a sculpture holding a vessel from which a thin stream of water falls. In Parque del Oeste a pond surrounds a little island with palm trees, and in Ducks in the Park the ducks gather on a rock in the middle of the water.

The villages of the province

The walk ends outside the city. Vélez-Málaga Castle rises above a field of poppies in reds and pinks; Casabermeja shows stone ruins lit by a low, raking light; Benagalbón is a whitewashed village façade with window grilles and a balcony; and Guadalhorce appears as a wetland of still water, reeds and shrubs.

Painted with the light of the south

Almost all of these paintings are watercolours, Alicia's main technique. She trained at the School of Applied Arts and Crafts in Málaga and is a member of the Acuamálaga watercolour group. She paints with a loose stroke and wet washes that let the colour blend, chasing the light of a specific moment: the shade of an awning in summer, the calm of a morning in El Palo or the last sun over La Caleta.

Each painting is a unique, signed original, not a print. On each painting's page you will find the technique, the size and photos of the painting in a room so you can see how it looks on the wall. You can see all the city's paintings in the collection Beautiful Málaga. We ship throughout Spain and to other countries, so they also make a lovely gift for anyone who lives far from Málaga and misses it.