Watch the goldfinch land, then the warm brown start doing damage. It only takes a small amount of colour to warm up a pale wall, and this old bird plate does it quietly. The room gains a still point somewhere the eye rests before moving on. Hang it at eye level in a hallway, above a writing desk, or on a narrow stretch of wall in a bedroom where a bigger piece would crowd. It sits happily with dark wood, aged leather, linen and simple cream ceramics. Don’t bury it behind a tall lamp or a stack of books, and keep loud graphic posters on a different wall this one needs space to be read. As a canvas it takes on a softer, slightly aged surface.