WILLIAM'S CORNER
Salman Toor at The Courtauld, Waterhouse and a first look at something from the studio...
Hello! It’s been a little while since the last William’s Corner (February last year in fact!), so thank you for sticking with me. You might have seen in my last email why I’ve been quiet, but now I’m back at it with lots of exciting things on the horizon.
This time I’ve been to see Salman Toor: Someone Like You at The Courtauld, visited the new Waterhouse restaurant, and there’s an update to Create Your Painting as well as news from the studio including a first look at a couple of exciting projects I’ve been working on.
ALL THINGS ARTY
This month I made it to Salman Toor: Someone Like You at The Courtauld. I hadn’t visited a large exhibition for a while and the images of Toor’s paintings I’d seen intrigued me.
On a dreich Tuesday afternoon a trip to The Courtauld is life-affirming and this one surpassed my expectations.
I wasn’t sure Toor’s first major European solo exhibition would live up to the hype, but the glowing reviews are deserved.
I hadn’t come across Toor before but now consider him up there with the most significant contemporary painters I’ve seen. Despite the sometimes challenging subject matter with hints of darkness, despair and loneliness, the paintings are generally full of life with touches of humour and caricature. I love the play on composition in several pieces that are modern interpretations of scenes from Old Masters such as Bruegel.
The majority of the paintings stand out for the alluring shade of emerald green used. The artist states that although the colour is often associated with envy or poison, he finds it ‘velvety, nocturnal and comforting’, and as noted by the gallery, it creates an ‘otherworldly atmosphere’ which I found fascinating and absorbing.
A couple of favourites were Bar Boy (2019) and The Inheritors (2022). The jewel-like paintings drew me in and I couldn’t stop looking at them, noticing new details and symbols. Whilst Toor’s life is very different from mine, I found similarities in the way the artist draws on the subjects of meaning, solitude, love and loss, and I could really feel something deeper than the aesthetics of these paintings alone.
The exhibition is relatively small but there is also a selection of the artist’s wonderful drawings exhibited in a separate part of the gallery and there is of course the rest of the gallery’s permanent collection to view - the perfect place to escape to on a rainy day.
The exhibition continues until 10 Jan 2027 and is well worth a visit.
FOODIE MUSINGS
You may have read in one of my previous newsletters about a favourite restaurant of mine, The Water House Project. Waterhouse is the next chapter in the restaurant’s story.
Having come to the end of their lease in Bethnal Green, owners Gabriel and Trish decided it was time to take the next step, and only a month or so after closing The Water House Project, opened Waterhouse, just off the bustling Columbia Road, famous for its Sunday flower market.
Waterhouse is the perfect distillation of everything Gabriel and Trish have been working on since first starting their supper clubs in their flat several years ago.
Maisie and I were lucky enough to be invited to the opening a couple of months ago and we were immediately taken with the new set-up.
It’s an oasis of calm, exuding the warmth that Gabriel and Trish have come to be known for. With a courtyard entrance where they plan to grow herbs and then a bar area with the perfect balance of contemporary design and antique objets d’art, everything has been meticulously considered.
Now firmly rooted in its Northumbrian influence, Gabriel’s homeland, the food is as wonderful as ever. Highlights include a warming broth to start that sets you up for a generous tasting menu of delights including baby crumpets with homemade lardo and the crispest and tastiest mushroom tartlets. On Sundays they now serve a sharing dish as part of the menu - on my last visit the most delicious hogget hot-pot I’ve ever had and then a beautiful selection of British cheeses served with homemade Fat Rascal crackers and honeycomb from Northumberland.
Every detail has been thought through - the flow from the bar to the dining room, the lighting and decor, the non-alcoholic drinks and the wine pairings.
You can tell that the whole team takes pride in working here and Gabriel and Trish’s gentle passion and generosity shine through all that they do.
Head there on a Sunday for a long lunch after exploring the charming independent shops on Columbia Road; it’s the perfect place to escape the crowds of the flower market and indulge in hospitality at its most warm and inspiring.
The dining room is open by reservation only so booking is essential.
INSPIRATION UPDATE
Most recently I’ve been thinking a lot about the places we go to hide. As a child I was forever building dens, and I’ve realised I still do it as an adult; it just looks a little bit different now. A favourite pub on an autumn evening, the studio with the door shut, a hilltop near my parents’ house or the road out to the Highlands in Scotland.
That feeling has become the starting point for my new body of work, which I’m calling Sanctuary for now. As an initial project that sits within this body I’ve been sketching (and testing the beer!) in various London pubs that I have an affinity for. London has some incredibly old and historic watering holes and the feeling they evoke as third spaces intrigues me. I’m trying to capture that feeling and look forward to sharing more with you in the coming months.
William Watson-West, Pub sketches William Watson-West, Pub Sketches
William Watson-West, Pub Sketches
RECENT WORK
I’ve been going through my archives in my London and Yorkshire studios and have found paintings that I haven’t shared at all or not for a long time including smaller works on paper and pieces from older series. Making way for new work, I’m putting together a small Studio Archive, and as a subscriber you’ll get to see it before it goes public. Keep an eye on your inbox over the next couple of weeks. (A hint of what’s coming is at the top of this email.)
Create Your Painting now comes in two forms. Since launching my accessible commissions, a few of you have mentioned how much you enjoyed the more personal element from my previous Painting Answers project, so now there’s a second option.
GALLERY NEWS
I’m really pleased that Novus Gallery in Helmsley will be taking on a selection of my work in the next few weeks.
A couple of my latest pieces (Dreaming of the Woods, pictured below, and Forest Doorway) have been selected for the Zillah Bell Gallery winter exhibition (opening at the end of November).
Looking ahead, I’m preparing for an exhibition at Pyramid Gallery, York, in January next year. More on that next time!
STAY UP TO DATE
If you know someone who’d enjoy William’s Corner, please do forward it on; it really helps. Thank you, as always, to everyone who has bought a painting, commissioned one, or simply read this far.
I’ll be in touch again soon.
Very best wishes,
William
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