1980s Colour Etching of Summer Flowers in a Blue Jug, Signed Sue Kavanagh

A joyful summer bunch in a blue and white jug by the London printmaker Sue Kavanagh, titled Random Flowers, signed in pencil and numbered 43 of 90. Pink fuchsias trail over the side of the jug, while yellow chrysanthemums, dusky roses, white starry blooms, scabious heads and clusters of ochre florets crowd above, set against a pale lemon ground with a frothy lace pattern drawn into the top. A pale dish sits on the table beside the jug, and the colours blend softly into one another the way they do in a real summer border.

Kavanagh studied fine art at the Byam Shaw School in London and worked in animation for the BBC before discovering printmaking at Putney School of Art in 1979. Etching gave her a way to capture light and texture, and up close you can see the fine grain of the aquatint in every petal and leaf, which no flat printed poster can reproduce. Each impression is inked and pulled by hand from the plate, so no two are exactly alike.

The print was framed by The Medici Society, the London fine art publishers, and their label is still on the back. It sits behind glass in a white mount and a slim champagne gold frame, measuring 52 x 43 cm overall, and is ready to hang. The frame has a few small rubs along the edges.

The soft lemon, sage, blush and duck egg tones are made for a bedroom, a cottage kitchen or a sunny landing. Pair it with blue and white china, painted furniture or a jug of real garden flowers on a dresser, or hang it in a cluster of botanical prints. It is also an excellent present for a gardener, especially one whose own borders look less tidy than this.