Contemporary Still Life Oil Painting in Aqua with Tulips and Old Books, Signed Dan Kirkham

Red tulips nodding over the rim of a blue and white jug, a stack of old leather books and two shiny red apples, all set against folds of sea green drapery. This original still life in oil on canvas is signed Dan Kirkham in the lower left corner, and it brings a burst of spring to any room, whatever the month.

The painting is full of lively, loose brushwork. Long green leaves and stems fan out from the jug, dotted with little sprigs of yellow spring flowers, while two tulips droop in that wonderfully dramatic way tulips do a few days after you bring them home. Below, a pair of worn books lie stacked on a white cloth, one bound in brown with gilt banding on the spine, the other in deep red, with the apples tucked in beside them. Behind everything, swathes of aqua and pale lime fabric fall in soft folds, catching the light. Up close you can see thick touches of paint on the petals and flower heads, which give the surface lovely texture.

Flowers, fruit and books have been the classic ingredients of still life painting since the Dutch masters of the 17th century, when every bloom and apple hinted at the passing of time. This version keeps the tradition but swaps the dark, moody backgrounds for fresh, pretty colours that feel very at home in a modern house.

It measures 47 x 37 cm including the frame, a generous size for a kitchen, dining room, bedroom or reading corner. The cream moulded frame is plastic, so it is pleasingly light and easy to hang, and its soft finish lets the aqua and red in the painting do the talking.

We would hang it in a kitchen above a dresser of blue and white china, or prop it on a bookshelf among your own favourite old hardbacks, so the painted books and the real ones can keep each other company. It looks lovely with fresh tulips in spring, a bowl of apples in autumn, and pale green glass all year round, and makes a thoughtful gift for a book lover or keen gardener.