Resuming an Old Hobby

     Years ago I always watched Bob Ross' Joy of Painting on public television and was inspired to give it a try, but my pictures never turned out like his so I eventually abandoned the whole idea. Recently while accompanying my wife to the craft store, she suggested I take it up again, but I demurred. She ended up buying a $20 boxed watercolor set for me, so I was stuck. The first few paintings were something a six year old would be proud of, but now I'm doing paintings a 12 year old would be proud of, so I'm making progress. After practicing on landscapes (which don't seem to turn out well...they all look gobbed up) and animals, I naturally tried doing chess players: Reshevsky, Fine and Fischer were the first, but Botvinnik ended up completely unrecognizable...portraits are difficult, too!  Right now I'd estimate my painting Elo at about 800-900, but with the help of Youtube lessons maybe I can get to 1200!