Lying, almost prone, sharing nothing but her back and relaxed curvature of the spine with us, a fragment of hair and a glimpse of leg and derriere, she’s reclined across a decadent and luxurious spread of ‘Red Kimono’, draped across a bed, sofa or chaise long for all we can establish here and now.

As well as being the cat’s mother, she is celebrated contemporary figurative artist, Fletcher Sibthorp’s subject matter in this, his most recent illustrative foray. ‘Red Kimono’ is an enigmatic, pictorially eventful piece is opulent of hues and saturations and panders to the need and prescribed frequency of light, shadow and reflection to convey its majesty.

The red of the kimono is empowering and all-consuming in its deliberation and visual deliverance, a rich tapestry of depth and volume, whilst the young woman’s flesh tones are Pre-Raphaelite in illustrative description and magnitude.

The composition is framed by the insurgence of black and hostile, brooding variations on a dark theme thereafter, all conspiring to produce a dramatic, overpowering piece.