Coleus is a plant well suited to the jungle like atmosphere of humid Missouri Summers. For years, Mary Lou has collected varieties of this plant and the explosive colors of this painting grew for her one summer not too long ago. In her style of accurate draftsmanship, every nuance of this heavily nuanced plant is shown. The colors have high contrast and some unexpected combinations, which push it almost into the abstract realism of plants seen very, very closely. The painting is very rich in color and composition, and the merest glimpse of the high-gloss blue pottery brings it into focus in a very pleasing way.