I've long admired watercolor painting and though I've tried to emulate some of the effects on the computer, there's nothing that quite matches the qualities found in the "real deal."  I've studied the work of some amazing watercolor artists and I've even found tutorials online to help me with my own technique (I'm fairly confident I could paint a duck head with the best of them) but the test comes when I put brush on paper.  So far... not awful... but not great either.  Yesterday was the first day I really did anything since college and I'm submitting my second illustration for you to consider:

I'll call this the "Before" picture and with some practice I hope to have an "After" picture up soon.  The deadline for this book project is October 24 and I'm expected to submit two finished pieces.  I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew - but then, I guess that's when some of the most interesting things come.

I'll keep you posted!...