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Outside the St. Pancras Hotel is an original oil painting by Nick Grove.
St Pancras Hotel rises as a powerful presence in this scene, its burnt sienna brickwork standing confidently against the greens of the surrounding trees. Around it, London’s familiar reds—buses, telephone boxes—add further chromatic richness. Set against wet pavements and the muted greys of passers-by moving through the rain, the scene becomes a compelling study of colour and atmosphere.
The rain had been falling steadily all day. Commuters were clearly unimpressed, and encouragement was notably absent. I was set up on the pavement, which likely didn’t help—Londoners are understandably intolerant of obstruction. I secured my transparent umbrella to the mast of the easel and carried on regardless.
By subduing the colour of the hotel tower relative to the foreground, I was able to suggest aerial perspective. Rain naturally softens colour over distance, and I exaggerated this effect deliberately. Blue is often used to imply depth, but it’s never a rule to be followed blindly. Careful looking, in each specific situation, is what ultimately matters. Rules exist to be tested—and sometimes broken.
