Sunflowers Brown & Yellow 04 nearing completion. This is where we begin to add some really dark areas and things begin to pop.
The two sunflowers on the left are the darker brown variety named, “Earthwalker Sunflowers” and the ones on the right are “Russian Mammoths“. When you look at these blossoms in real life their colors are so amazing. They are named right cause their colors do look like sunshine in the gardens. This view shows how the paints look when they are wet and not all of the details are completed.
Sunflowers Yellow & Brown tutorial 03. The petals are all started with a good yellow and orange wash. Now, the center of the blossom can begin with shapes that render where all the seeds are developing. This area on the blossom is an area where I have to simplify what I see and stay away from trying to render every single detail.
You can see how the introduction of green strokes and puddles of paint create a rich dark hue in the background.
The seed centers are darkened and finished in more detail. The petals close to the center are darkened also and the shadows that are cast on the different petal shapes are added. Adding more of the green foliage in the background helps to separate the main characters even more.
The addition of some purple alongside of the greens makes even darker shapes behind the blossoms.
Painting Sunflowers in Yellow & Brown tutorial. We are fortunate to have an abundance of all different kinds and colors of sunflowers in our garden each year. This artist takes many photographs that inspire rendering their beautiful colors and surfaces.
See how much variation in value exists in sunflowers for each and every petal and the centers of the blossoms. This painting is a real practice in getting good gradations in the watercolor wash. Each petal goes from real dark to really light on the tips. They are not only yellow in color set a full pallet of paint up for this project. The blue-gray dots seen in the middle are watercolor resist (mastik) reserving white areas for better details later on.
Yellow Rose 03 Tutorial. Applying a green shadow line along where the lower flower petals separate from the vertical standing petals is gently softened by adding a small amount of clean water below the line. I can also use a paper towel to dry my brush and then pick up any excess amounts of pigment before it dries. A very adjustable feathering procedure.
This image shows how much the colors fade as they dry. It really is okay to use a lot more pigment than you would normally feel comfortable with.
A lot more of the darkest shadows and brightest highlights have been rendered here in the blossom and on the foliage. See the completed art anytime at the 
Yellow Rose 02 Tutorial. I can turn to fill in the background areas after the flower and foliage are sufficiently defined. Using a weak solution of alizarin crimson I selectively create different areas of wet. Then I can carefully place drops of heavier concentrations of color into these wet areas. A large drop of crimson travels through a lake entertaining the eye as it spreads where ever it wants to. The watercolor seems to have a mind of its own. My darkening drops begin with accentuating the outside borders and are mostly made using alizarin crimson.
At this point, I alternate between adding drops of purple, with bright and thick drops of cadmium red. It is scary to put this much color and allow it to spread on its own but honestly, the color pales a great deal as it dries. Being bold is good! I love the way that these brilliant colors make their own gradual nuances.
Yellow Rose 01 Tutorial. When your garden provides the perfect yellow rose, you just have to paint it. This photograph captured all of the curving surfaces so well that I could not resist.
As more of the petals are given their yellow base washes I begin to see the magic of three-dimensional illusion begin to appear. Flowers are so very amazing with the way they curve every which way showing light hitting their surfaces in ever-changing values.
There is a clear definition of who is who in the two characters in the dinosaur fight at this point. So, my focus moves to the use of my watercolor pencils to render foliage, grasses, and outlines along the darkest edges of the animals. When you look at the lines created with the pencils here they seem very dull but wait till you see how a little spray of water brings the color vibrancy right up.
After a simple spray from my water mister, the colors start to show so very bright. I am able to blend and move the color any way I’d like with my watercolor brushes from here. 
The next step for me is to put a pallet of acrylic paints to make final details with. The brightest highlights are first. Then careful rounding of the teeth surfaces, dotting of the skin scales and delicate whites of their eyes. It is amazing to watch how careful changes in water content change the opacity of the acrylic paint. I can have a fully opaque or transparent application with just a minor change in water content.
The last two images show how the foreground can be loosely finished using a combination of watercolor pencil strokes and paint strokes to help fill it all in. 
I ended up giving this dinosaur painting to a grand-nephew visiting us named Jonah. The finished painting can be seen anytime at the artist’s 
Welcome to Dinosaur 01 tutorial. Dinosaurs are a subject that I have illustrated previously. Here is the initial sketch of a dinosaur layout.
You can see the horizon line skyline wash and the neutral ground surface watercolor wash outlining where they are standing. I thought a Stegosaurus and Tyrannosaurus Rex facing off would be interesting subjects to paint. I imagine an armored vegetarian with a spiked tail facing off with a ferocious meat-eater that has tiny little front arms.
Even though the basic reptile skin will be in greens I use a red or brown base to lay in where the darker shadows will be on their body forms first.
Beginning with T-Rex’s body surfaces it immediately becomes apparent that the tail of Mr. Stegosaurus could easily get real lost in all the T-Rex surfaces in the immediate vicinity. So, I find myself being really careful about how I keep the two separated.
I use different colors to separate their surfaces. A sepia brown-based green on T-Rex makes a noticeable difference between his tail behind. The horned tail of the Stegosaurus is darkened with magenta around his armor plates.
Finishing
We greatly darken the entire background and add more foliage shapes randomly. A really good and dark mixture to use is crimson with hookers green, it is my favorite black. Kind of a powerful black with a heck of a punch. Once you use this mixture you will be spoiled for life and never even open a tube of black again. More red will make it reddish, and more green makes it greenish.
With a sufficiently darkened background, we can now focus on the final details of Mr. Dragonfly and his sunflower.
Notice, the row of slight touches of acrylic white paint added to the dragonfly wing where highlights occur. A thinner mix is applied at each of these clear parts of his wing, which allows the underpainting to still show through. I only apply this where I notice shine and glimmer appearing. 
It becomes a game of applying, re-applying, and then softening edges with a clean wet brush until you get exactly what you want. You can get amazing soft hints of light by applying a weak mix of white or black to the previously painted surfaces.