ava double face - flower basket double

Found on a wall in Antwerp, this image brings the colourful world of Belgian painter Gustave-Philippe Cousin back into the room. Cousin was known for his bright, sometimes naïve visual language and for his work with reverse glass painting, also called églomisé. In the 1960s, the Belgian press even described him as a kind of Belgian Douanier Rousseau. A basket of flowers, a tall vase, pink curtains, a blue sky, a green field outside the window, and a table that seems to have dressed up for the occasion. Everything is slightly too much, slightly too cheerful, and completely charming. The flowers do not behave like a polite still life. They take over the scene. Reds, yellows, blues, pinks, greens, and soft whites all competing for attention without ruining the mood. Cousin’s world feels generous, decorative, almost childlike in the best possible sense. Nothing cynical. Nothing trying too hard to be clever. The painting has that rare confidence of work made with pleasure. A little theatrical. A little domestic. A little impossible to ignore. Even the curtains seem excited to be there. On textile, the image becomes pure colour and optimism. Floral shapes, painted details, and the soft naïve perspective create a print with immediate warmth and personality. A room, a bouquet, a window, and apparently no fear whatsoever of being joyful.

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Discovered in Copenhagen, in a vanished store, this artwork shows another kind of floral still life. Not painted this time, but embroidered, with thick stitches, raised lines, and colours layered so closely together they almost start pushing each other out of the frame. Thread does most of the work. Pink lilies, orange flowers, blue striped blooms, green leaves, yellow curls, tiny dark dots, and a navy and white striped background all packed into one very determined bouquet. Too much? Maybe. But in the best possible way. The image feels handmade and generous, with no real interest in being subtle. Every stitch adds texture. Every colour wants a place. The flowers are decorative, but not fragile. Cheerful, but not sweet. More like a flower arrangement that got slightly carried away and was better for it. The striped background gives the artwork its graphic rhythm, while the embroidery keeps it tactile and warm. You almost want to touch it before looking at it properly. The store itself has since disappeared, which makes the image feel even more precious. Another piece found just in time, before the place became only a memory. On textile, the stitched effect translated into rich movement and depth. Colours stacked over colours, lines becoming texture, flowers behaving with far more confidence than expected. A bouquet that clearly had no plans to sit quietly in the corner.

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