{"id":246992,"date":"2026-01-23T00:34:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T00:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/246992\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T00:34:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T00:34:11","slug":"gourock-artist-david-watsons-first-exhibition-at-the-wyllieum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/246992\/","title":{"rendered":"Gourock artist David Watson&#8217;s first exhibition at The Wyllieum"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n  David Watson unveiled his &#8216;High Tide&#8217; showcase at The Wyllieum last weekend.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  The 42-year-old says he started out as a cabinet-maker five or six years ago and has been honing his skills ever since.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  <img   width=\"100%\"\/>David Watson has unveiled his first solo exhibition at The Wyllieum (Image: Alex Craig)\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  <img  \/><\/p>\n<p>\n  High Tide brings together a selection of artworks he has assembled, exploring themes of \u2018order, material and stillness\u2019, and offers a \u2018quiet counterpoint\u2019 to what he describes as \u2018a noisy world\u2019.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  David said: \u201cPeople should come along to the exhibition just for a bit of peace.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  \u201cThat\u2019s what it\u2019s about for me.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  \u201cIt\u2019s about having a little break from what\u2019s going on out there in the world.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  David said his work emphasises craftsmanship, structure, and the natural qualities of materials, and says a lot of his practice has been shaped by Inverclyde itself and the Firth of Clyde.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  He added: \u201cThe changing light, industrial history and steady presence of the water have all played a significant role in informing the atmosphere and sensibility of the work on show.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  David grew up in Northamptonshire and moved to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eastlothiancourier.com\/local-news\/musselburgh-news\/?ref=au\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Musselburgh<\/a> to take on an apprenticeship in cabinet making.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  <img  \/><\/p>\n<p>\n  He lived in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heraldscotland.com\/local-news\/edinburgh-news\/?ref=au\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Edinburgh<\/a> for a decade before moving to Glasgow, and made his way further west to settle in Gourock around 10 years ago.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  When David worked in Edinburgh, he shared a creative space with around 25 other makers.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  <img   width=\"100%\"\/>David Watson has unveiled his first solo exhibition at The Wyllieum (Image: Alex Craig)\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  After he settled in Gourock, he realised that working with others in that kind of setting was something that could work in Inverclyde, so he set up Greenock Workshops on Terrace Road.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  David added: \u201cThere are so many artists working in Inverclyde and there\u2019s always a lot going on.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  \u201cI\u2019m surrounded by artists. There are around 15 of us in the space now.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  \u201cHaving all of the art and creativity around me inspired me to get started in art.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  David said he\u2019s very proud to be presenting his first solo exhibition in a Greenock venue that showcases the work of one of his favourite artists.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  He added: \u201cIt\u2019s a privilege to show my work at the Wyllieum. We\u2019re very lucky to have a fantastic space like this in Inverclyde. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  \u201cGeorge Wyllie is such an inspirational character to me.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  \u201cThe lightness and humour with which he approaches his art while tackling very serious topics makes it accessible to everyone.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  \u201cHe just seemed to be having fun. I think we need a little bit more of that in the world just now.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  <img  \/><\/p>\n<p>\n  David says he feels an affinity with George in terms of his career progression.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  He added: \u201cI connect with the fact that he started making art in his 40s after a career as a welder.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  \u201cI\u2019ve been a cabinet maker for almost 25 years, and I feel like I\u2019m just getting started.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  \u201cI can\u2019t wait to do more.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  High Tide runs until February 12.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"David Watson unveiled his &#8216;High Tide&#8217; showcase at The Wyllieum last weekend. The 42-year-old says he started out&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":246993,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[442,498,499,500,501,156,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-246992","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-new-zealand","15":"tag-newzealand","16":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246992"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246992\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/246993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}