Polar Bear

It seemed a while since I had a undertaken real jigsaw puzzle challenge so battling this bear just seemed the thing to do! Being the very cheap Surelox brand, the pieces did not fit together well, which is a shame, as otherwise this photo was fun complete. There were not a large variety of shapes in this 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle, so there was a lot more reliance on the graduated shadings. Although the different areas seem reasonably distinct in the completed picture, it was not immediately easy to discern which went where when they were still randomly piled on the table. Initially it was a matter of concentrating on the darkest area of foliage in the foreground, then moving to the sky. Although there were purple tinged areas in the snow and rock background, they lacked the clear smoothness of the sky. Then it was time to concentrate on the way the yellow tinged fur coat of this placid looking polar bear was running, and as it was mainly in the same direction, he connected the undergrowth and sky very conveniently. After that there was little left to fill in via the snow shrouded rocks and bushes surrounding him. Doing this jigsaw puzzle on a chilly winter day added to the fun. Sort of!

Sacre Coeur

While in a scenic frame of mind, I decided to complete this striking Arrow brand 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle of Sacre Coeur in France. This Roman Catholic church is located on the summit of Montmartre, the highest point in the city of Paris. The main part of this jigsaw puzzle was reasonably easy to assemble. It was merely a matter of initially working down the tree then across the gardens before moving into the stonework. The building had enough detail to simplify its completion then filling in the small patch of sky between it and the tree was quick to do as most pieces had a scrap of something solid to reference them to. The remaining pieces of totally blue sky probably made up the final one eighth of the photo. By concentrating on them by their shapes and moving between the slightly lighter and darker hues, that area was then filled in surprisingly quickly, to finalise an interesting view of this grand scenic monument.

Rhododendrons Mount Hood

In another tranquil photograph featuring flowers, this time we have a scenic vista of rhododendrons spread out in a field before Mount Hood in Oregon. This is a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle by Big Ben that shows the highest point in Oregon and the fourth highest peak in the Cascade Range. Mount Hood is considered the Oregon volcano that is most likely to erupt, although based on its history, an explosive eruption is deemed top be unlikely. At over 11,000 feet, or almost 3,500 metres, Mount Hood is very high, and the snowy mountain peak rises beautifully prominent from an extensive area of more lowly elevated land. The areas of comparatively similar tones made this a relatively easy jigsaw puzzle to assemble. Once the mountain filled sky was completed, followed by the far timberline and yellow flowers in the forefront, it was already easily half done. Then to finalise the lovely clustered pink rhododendrons only slowed the pace, not the pleasure.

Horses in a Field of Poppies

This is such a charming photo of a mare and foal in a tranquil setting that it had to be a charming experience to assemble this 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle.

It is from the comparatively cheap Fame brand so the pieces are somewhat thin but at the peaceful scene helped make up for that. At first glance it appeared to be a difficult jigsaw puzzle to put together but in fact the balance between the main areas of colour meant that each section of blue sky, white horse, brown foal and vermilion flowers could be easily isolated then connected. With the assistance of those pieces that overlapped a section of two main tones, no one area was too arduous to complete.

Cat Wash Bubbly Kitten Picture

This cute kitten in the wash tub picture was so much fun to do. Despite being only a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle, the shadings and brush strokes in this painting made it reasonably challenging.

Stewart Sherwood is the artist and this jigsaw puzzle was published by Ceaco. After building up the edge it was necessary to pick out in small blocks of colour to work on. Otherwise it was too easy to drown in  the sameness of tonality of many of the pieces, especially as the painting has soft blurring lines and not the distinctness of a 'Cats by Margaret' one that I completed a little while back. Not that I was complaining. I was certainly having much more fun than the subject of this charming picture!.

Stunning Scenic View of Mont Blanc in France

A lot of patience was required to assemble the 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle of this amazing photograph by Yann Arthus-Bertrand.

It can not be seen clearly, as this accompanying photo is quite small, but at the pinnacle of the tallest peak is a building! This 3,842 metre high mountain is named "Aiguille du Midi", which translates literally as "needle of midday". It is so called as the sun sits directly over the peak at noon, when viewed from Chamonix. The summit is reached by cable car and contains a panoramic viewing platform, a cafe and a gift shop.

The Bold and the Beautiful Horse Jigsaw Puzzle

I was planning to give the animals a rest and do a nice scenic picture for a change but this jigsaw puzzle depicting an unusual horse oil painting caught my eye at an internet auction.

This 1000 piece oil painting of a horse has quite large brush strokes, making it more of a challenge than others I have done recently. Although there was no close up detail such as in that gorgeous Cats by Margaret jigsaw puzzle, the vibrant colours and flowing form of this picture certainly gives it a real feeling of life. The only downside is that it is from the cheap Surelox range. Yes, they are very cheap to indeed buy, but the thin pieces do not sit well together and often curl up a fair bit so although the picture might be a pleasure to assemble, the physical pieces are not so enjoyable to handle.

West Highland Terrier Double Photo

This charming photo of a West Highland Terrier certainly provided double the pleasure to do as a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle!

The unusual camera perspective gives a fine profile view as well as a very charming three quarter one of this lovely dog. The photo is well lit so there is enough similarity in the fur colour in this jigsaw puzzle to provide a comfortable challenge. Many reflection style pictures have a distinct tonal difference so the mirror image can be too easily identified. Of course an exact replica of the original would be unrealistic, but this is an ideal composition.

Special Blossoms from the Cats by Margaret Jigsaw Puzzle Range

Some jigsaw puzzles I do just for the sheer pleasure of the picture involved. This one I finished recently is "Special Blossoms" from the exclusive Cats by Margaretrange. This beautiful picture is from the original art work of a South Australian artist, and only 500 of each jigsaw puzzle has been printed.

This 1000 piece cat portrait shows mother and daughter cats relaxing in the garden. I was quite taken by the lovely colours, the close detail and the softness of the cats depicted. I must finish assembling the rest of this elegant series, especially as they are great quality, being made in New Zealand and not China. This jigsaw puzzle certainly was not difficult to do, and just as certainly it was a sheer pleasure!
If you would like one of your own, it is available from: Cats by Margaret

Jigsaw Puzzle of Wild Deer in a Glade

This tranquil jigsaw puzzle of deer in a glade on a foggy morning is only 500 pieces. However this was a slightly more demanding picture to assemble as so many of them were quite similar. Once the border was put in place at least there were a few out of the way! 

The remaining jigsaw puzzle pieces were then sorted roughly into foreground and background, with anything obviously tree trunks or deer sorted together within their respective groups. Some of the russet tree in the background ended up with the foreground gathering but this was not an issue yet.

It seemed best to start with the middle tree trunks as they were fairly distinctive. Then as there were less grey tone pieces than orange, the remaining background was filled in. Once the outer edges of the russet tree were picked up at this stage it was relatively easy to isolate the inner sections from the pile of mainly orange pieces as these were much darker.

Once the background was complete, it was time to establish the more solid sections of deer, and already the picture was about half finished. Now it was time to look at piece shape as much as colour, although the lighter and darker hues helped with piece placement. 

When assembling any jigsaw puzzle, the best way to approach it is to think of it as blocks of colour and pattern, whether large or small. Any pieces not fitting the section being worked on should be put aside so as not to complicate or bemuse.

Big Balloons Usually Mean a Simple but Fun Time

Many people seem to think small puzzle piece count means an easy jigsaw puzzle to do and vice versa, but this is not necessarily so. The complexity of the picture involved means a lot more. This Surelox brand jigsaw puzzle, a photo of a big Balloon Regatta, is a medium size of 750 pieces, yet much more easy to do than many 500 piece jigsaws.

Assembling a jigsaw puzzle generally means considering colours involved before piece shapes. When a picture has convenient blocks of colours like this one, it is easy to concentrate on certain pieces and just ignore the others. As in the case with most puzzles, the border pieces were joined first. Next 'sky' pieces were put aside for later as not yet required. Then moving in from the border, it was more than easy to pick out the colours and patterns needed to fill in the crowd, complete the green balloon then move on to the other smaller ones nearby.
The pattern on the largest balloon was very distinctive so those pieces were also left aside while the foreground was finished. With its slightly staggered lines of bright hues it was ridiculously easy to fill in next. After that there was little left to do. Now the remaining pieces were much more similar in colouring it was time to pay less attention to the wisps of blue and white but consider the piece shapes and dimensions as these were slotted in. The other pieces were already in place and not causing confusion, so inserting the few others remaining was simplicity itself! Now I must look for another good jigsaw puzzle at an online auction.