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The Lowther Hotel, Goole, UK captures one of the oldest surviving purpose-built hotels in England, nestled on the edge of Goole’s working docks. Painted in March 2023, this 8x10 oil on panel reflects a personal moment of grief, nostalgia, and unexpected beauty—seen during one of my quiet walks through the place I once called home.
The Lowther itself has a kind of faded grandeur—its brick façade bearing witness to centuries of industrial rise and local change. Built in 1824, this Grade II listed building has stood through Goole’s evolution from a bustling inland port to a quieter, overlooked town. And yet there it remains, resolute and quietly noble.
The painting doesn’t dramatize. Instead, it leans on a subdued post-impressionist palette and gestural brushwork to render the subtle textures of age and atmosphere. There’s a stillness in the scene, a kind of working-class dignity that doesn’t ask for attention but deserves it all the same.
For me, this wasn’t just about architectural charm. It was about the strange beauty that sometimes lives in overlooked places. Growing up in Goole, I never thought of the docks as “picturesque.” But in that moment—watching light fall on the façade, the quiet hum of the river behind—I saw something worth capturing. And that’s what this painting is: a reminder that beauty isn’t always flashy. Sometimes it’s just… there. Quiet. Honest. True.