Rediscovery

My first experiences with formal art lessons began with watercolors. When I was in 5th grade, I took weekly private lessons from an artist in her home. One memory that I have was painting a large panda based on a national geographic photo. I recall making a grid on the photo in the magazine and then making a grid of 1" squares on my watercolor paper. Next, I painted that panda square by square. I'm sure that it took weeks to finish, but i don't remember that part. So last month I decided it would be fun to give the watercolors another try. I've been thinking about them for quite awhile, but you know how that goes. I illustrated these 2 owls, drew them out in ink and then tried out my paints. I think the hardest thing for me was adding water. And now that I'm thinking about it, I do recall having that same problem in my lessons. I would often daintily dip my brush into the water and be told not to be 'scared' of it. I've got a lot more experimenting to do, but here's my first painting after the rediscovery. It's for sale in my etsy shop, It can be yours if you'd like it.