Think of it as old-master portraiture with less reverence and better instincts. A blackbird with reading glasses, a blue scarf and a serious green book — painted like a 17th-century gentleman who happens to be a bird.

Put it up and the room gets quieter and a bit more characterful. Bookshelves look more lived-in. Empty corners suddenly feel like they have an opinion.

It belongs in a study, a snug, a hallway lined with books, or the bit of the living room where the reading chair lives. Good above a writing desk. Good beside a tall bookshelf.

Pair it with dark wood, leather, tartan, faded rugs, brass lamps and stoneware. Anything you'd find in a country library works.

Don't surround it with bright, modern, glossy things — the painted surface reads best against age and warmth.