I grew these coleus plants from seed this year!  I think the whole seed tray sprouted.  I kept some of them over the winter and I'm doing a series of small paintings based on them.  Every one was slightly and sometimes wildly different from the rest. 

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 Just started on this one.  Looking out of my studio window at the cloudy skies and the lake valley.  I want to paint the bottom like a windowsill and put something "spring" in front of the grey winter scene.

Please excuse the two-lamp color photograph.  I added a flower facing the window and a fallen bloom.  Left side of the picture is too yellow and the right side is too blue.  I will work on the shadowed areas more and the watch chain.  I think I need to get the back flower to recede more.  Maybe darken the part of the shadowed flower more.  It was sunny today and really changed the way the light shined through the petals.  I also want to "dirty" the window some and add the shadow behind the watch and more behind the violet.  My pallet started getting muddy colors on it.

I painted in the watch and worked on the flowers a bit more.  I want to paint the chain in the picture also.

Worked more on the violet yesterday.  The leaves and flowers still need more work.  I need to bring out more of the colors.  I may also add another flower. 

I started painting the leaves of the violet.  I'll need to take a picture of my pallet.  I ended up with hookers green, cobalt blue, indian yellow, magenta, white, burnt sienna, and burnt umber.  Lots of colors in the leaves!  I realized how complex the violet plant is and just started from one side.  I also found the watch I want to place on the windowsill next to it.

I worked some more on the pot today and I started painting the cracks in the windowsill.  I will go back and touch up the details later after I paint the violet.  I am thinking about putting a pocket watch next to the violet to symbolize the passage of time.  The painting looks bluer on the right side and more yellow on the right because I photographed it in my studio where I use two colors of bulbs.  I can't wait to paint the violet plant next.

Started work on the flower pot.  It needs more work on the rim and right hand lower side.  Worked out the shape and perspective on a piece of tracing paper.  The vanishing point is in the far mountains, at ridge-line level, a little towards the left from center in this painting.  The math is always right! (The flower pot is actually half "out" of the picture plane, coming forward)

Worked more on the trees and started the windowsill.

I did some more on the background and painted in the window, pane wood, and started to make the window grunge in the edges.

Gray winter day out of my studio window