‘Too safe,’ said nobody standing in front of soft blue. This is a dog mid-zoomie, legs thrown out in both directions, painted in thick loose strokes on a big open sky-blue background. Hang it and the room gets a jolt of movement without getting louder the blue keeps everything calm while the running shape pulls your eye straight across the wall. It earns its place above a sofa, a sideboard or along a hallway where people walk past all day. Pair it with linen seating, pale wood, cream ceramics and a few rattan baskets. Don’t crowd it with small busy pieces on either side; this one needs open wall to run into. As a canvas, the painted texture reads as a real picture on the wall, with no glazing between you and the brushwork.