Some time after I'd retired, for my birthday my ex gave me a watercolor set. I had not worked with watercolors since high school, so the first thing I did was complete a practice piece, which is the view from my bedroom window. It's not terrible, at least I hope, but it would never set the world on fire.
It gave me enough confidence to tackle something more challenging, so I rendered a portrait of my childhood summer home in New Hampshire.
Again, nothing earthshaking, but at least it doesn't suck. However, while rendering it, I discovered that painting, especially detail work, was very hard on my eyes, and I'd develop some nasty eyestrain headaches. So I had to put the paintbrush down for good, with regrets, and return to caricatures.