Once the pink-red enters, the whole room stops apologising. Those long legs are the only real colour here, and they do a lot of work against the black wing and the soft off-white ground. Put it up and a flat wall gets a focal point without the room getting louder the bird stands tall and quiet, and everything around it reads more deliberate. It suits a narrow hallway, a study wall above a desk, or a bedroom where you want interest rather than drama. Pair it with painted panelling, aged leather, linen and old brass. Keep big bold abstracts and busy florals off the same wall; they fight the fine linework and flatten it. As a canvas the edges soften, so it sits easily on a painted wall.