For Valentine’s Day, Callaghan gave me a gift set of my current favorite fragrance (Guilty, in case you were wondering). As a life-long perfume addict, fragrance is still my favorite “romantic” sort of gift to receive. Though Callaghan’s a wonderful chef, the way to my heart is not through my stomach. It’s definitely through my nose!
I knew about that gift in advance, but yesterday, he surprised me with an early gift… one that he made. He came in and leaned it up against my bookshelves while my back was turned:
Happy hearts! What could it be?
When I unwrapped it, I found a painting of red roses! It’s a framed assemblage of gorgeous, vibrant red roses.
Immortal red roses! “Valentine’s Day Roses” original by Philippe Augy (Callaghan)
Over the summer, he started working with alcohol-based inks on thin plastic sheeting to make these assemblages. The finished works are hand-drawn, cut out, pieced together in careful composition and colored by hand, airbrush or a combination of both. He’s now created several pieces working in this technique, and I’m eager to see the completed collection. He’s aiming to make about 40 assemblages.
Here are a few more shots of my Valentine’s Day roses:
“Valentine’s Day Roses” detail – here you can see the dimension given by his layering technique. My camera can’t do the colors justice, but you get the idea.
Roses, roses, roses!
I took everything off the wall behind my desk and placed the roses there, low, as a kind of backdrop before my eyes that I can admire while I’m sitting here.
My little office area, now alive with roses that will never die!
He added a heart and an exclamation point to his usual signature (along with a sweet note on the back).
While I’m in bragging mode, I would like to show you another finished piece from the collection. This one is my favorite, after the roses:
“Homage St. Exupery” original by Philippe Augy (Callaghan)
Do you recognize some of the elements from Antoine de Saint Exupery’s “Le Petit Prince”?
Callaghan also made a colorful little bouquet for Mom, which we sent to her following her last chemo infusion:
“Tulips for Mom” original by Philippe Augy (Callaghan)
Callaghan is currently accepting commissions for these custom floral assemblages. If you’re interested in ordering one, let me know via my Contact page, and I will connect you. =)
Happy Valentine’s Day!
That Asian-Looking Chick 