Unlike most portrait art, this doesn’t wait for approval. The woman sits, the cat watches, and the room around them quietens down. The mood is thoughtful rather than dramatic, so it sits inside a scheme rather than competing with it.

Put it up and the wall stops feeling blank without going loud. The soft grey lines pick up whatever light the room has morning, afternoon, lamps on and the off-white background reads almost like part of the wall itself.

Best above a low chest of drawers, a writing desk, or beside a bed. Bedrooms, studies, dressing rooms and quiet hallways are the natural homes. It also holds its own on a small landing wall.

Pair with linen, boucl, pale oak, brushed brass and one or two cream ceramics. A reading lamp nearby helps the pencil lines come forward in the evening.

Don’t crowd it with high-contrast graphic prints or saturated colour blocks the sketch wants a calmer neighbourhood. On canvas the soft penc