Puzzle: Tom Kidd – Success!

Tom Kidd - Success!, med

Size: 750 pieces
Dimensions: 46 cm x 61 cm
Producer: Sunset Glow? (I do not have the box anymore: if you know who the producer is of this puzzle and what the series is, I’d appreciate it if you share.)

Puzzle: Easy enough to complete, with large distinct pieces and many differently-coloured regions, this puzzle is a good one when you crave a fairy tale visual. Many good places to start: the book and flame, the wizard’s face and hands, the glowing ball at the top of the staff, the red robe, the hat, the white horses, the castle, and the sky wall boundary. The book stand top and round parts in the bottom half of the puzzle can serve as guides. The rest of the pieces should fall into place.

Puzzle: Josephine Wall – Fantasy Wedding

Josephine Wall - Fantasy Wedding, med

Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 67 cm x 48 cm
Producer:
RoseArt, Masterworks series
Artist: Josephine Wall

Puzzle: A simple puzzle to do, due to its many distinct elements. One can start really anywhere – good places are the rainbow-coloured flowers in the bottom right, the white of the bride and her horse, the balloons and the sky, palm trees, waterfall, and river. The building and various animals can follow, and the rest is trivial.

Notes: “At a fantasy wedding there is no need of a limousine when the bride can arrive on a pure white unicorn, and the groom on a powerful striped mount.With attendants from the jungles and plains, the happy young couple set out on their journey through life together, surrounded by all the things that have meant so much to them. What a magical day, one never to be forgotten!” [Josephine Wall site]

 

Puzzle: Hin Chang Tor by Aimee Stewart

Aimee Stewart - Hin Chang Tor, med
Size
: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 67.95 cm x 48.1 cm
Producer
: Mega Puzzles, Fantastic Visions series, 2013, No. 50939AAN, A 23053 PP
Artist: Aimee Stewart – Aimee is a self-taught artist who specializes in lush, eclectic digital painting and photomanipulation.  Heavily inspired by music and literature, Aimee works from the heart to bring her unique and transporting visions to life,  whether they are surreal, storybook, or something plucked from ‘otherwhere’.  In essence, she is a cartographer of the imagination, and a champion of daydreams. [Foxfires site]
Original: artwork

Puzzle: A beautiful fantasy puzzle, not completely trivial to put together. Some of the best places to start are the balloons, the coloured ribbons cascading from balconies, the waterfall, the multicoloured sky and grass, and the sky/castle boundary. From there on, filling out the rest of the pieces is a big slower but many small details are revealed in the process, making this puzzle a pleasure to assemble. Good quality pieces fitting together well.

Puzzle: The Wizard’s World by Adrian Chesterman

Adrian Chesterman - The Wizard's World, med

Size:  550 pieces, 2 missing
Dimensions: 61 cm x 46 cm
Painting: the original
Producer: Ceaco, Glow in the Dark, Series 6, 2005, #2333-37

Puzzle: A pleasant fantasy puzzle to assemble. The best regions to start are the window, the wizard’s face, hair, and beard, the fingers, the flame and the candle, and the planets. The owl, the parchment, and the rest of the puzzle can follow. A beautiful painting.

Artist: Adrian Chesterman studied fine art at Norwich School of Art and illustration at the Royal College of Art in Kensington, London. Since leaving the R.C.A. Chesterman has worked in nearly every sphere of the art world… Chesterman started with an illustration technique of his own invention which employs airbrush and painted gouache and acrylic inks on artboard or canvas… Chesterman lives in Andalucia in Spain and has also been designing gardens and parks for the rich and the famous. “I love designing gardens… When I’m painting a picture or a mural I am usually copying nature, but when I’m designing a garden I’m working with nature as my paint box.”  [Adrian Chesterman site]

Puzzle: Dinotopia: Festival of Children and Hatchlings by James Gurney

James Gurney - Dinotopia - Festival of Children and Hatchlings, med

Size:  1000 pieces
Dimensions: 76.2 cm x 60.96 cm
Painting: Dinosaur Parade
Artist: Steve A. Roberts
Producer: Springbok, Hallmark, 1992, PZL6183

Puzzle: The puzzle is quite appealing visually, but not made well: the pieces are large, thick, and do not fit together without a significant effort. There are many distinct colour regions and guides to make this puzzle trivial to assemble: the steps,  the building, the border between the sky and the trees, the distinct hides of the different dinosaurs, the flags, the crowd, and the saddles. The rest of the pieces can be filled in based on those.

Notes: “Dinotopia – A Land Apart From Time

Professor Arthur Denison and his son, Will, set out in 1860 on an ocean voyage to explore uncharted territories. What they found was more incredible than anything they might have imagined. When a typhoon ripped them from their schooner and into a raging sea, dolphins swam to the rescue and carried the pair to the tropical shore of the lost island of Dinotopia.

The father and son soon found, much to their astonishment, that Dinotopia was a land where all manner of dinosaurs lived peacefully and quite happily with human beings.

Accompanied by their faithful guide, Bix, a Protoceratops and one of the few dinosaurs who could “speak” human languages, Professor Denison and Will began to explore the wonders of Dinotopia.

They visited Waterfall City, which seemed to float on a sea of mist while gigantic waterfalls cascaded all around its walls. In Treetown they lived in rustic tree houses and slide down the neck of a Brachiosaurus whenever they wanted to visit the lowlands. They explored the dreamland of air and stone called Canyon City. And in Sauropolis, capital of Dinotopia, they witnessed the wonderfully lavish Festival in Honor of Children and Hatchlings. Gradually the enchantment of this lost world captivated both Professor Denison and Will, and they knew in their hearts that Dinotopia had become their true home, the place where they could “breathe deep, seek peace” and live in harmony with all.

The artist and author of Dinotopia, James Gurney, has created fantasy art for the covers of more than 70 books and has painted scenes of ancient worlds for several National Geographic articles. A few years ago he began a series of oil paintings of a fantasyland where dinosaurs and humans lived in harmony, and these paintings eventually led to the creation of the uniquely beautiful book Dinotopia. Gurney lives with his wife, Jeanette, also an artist, and their two sons in the Hudson Valley of New York State.” [Puzzle box]

Puzzle: Alter Terrain by Steve A. Roberts

Steve A. Roberts - Alter Terrain, med

Size:  550 pieces
Dimensions: 61 cm x 46 cm
Artist: Steve A. Roberts
Producer: Ceaco, Glow in the Dark series, 2003, #2333-24

Puzzle: Simple puzzle to do, the pieces fit unambiguously. Some good regions to start are the wizard’s face and clothing, the horse, the border between the two terrains, the cacti, the fortress, and the spheres of light. The grass, the rocks, the mountain peak, and the orange sky can follow, leaving a few pieces to fill in.

Notes: Change Terrain is an Uncommon Instant Spell belonging to the  Nature Magic realm. It may only be cast on the overland map. For the base Casting Cost of  50, it will change a targeted tile from one terrain type to another. Most terrain tiles are shifted one “step” closer to Grassland, and Grassland may be changed back into Forest. Several types of terrain, including Oceans, may not be targeted. The effect is permanent and does not require an Upkeep Cost to maintain. [Master of Magic wiki]

Puzzle: Moon Magic by Myles Pinkney

Myles Pinkney - Moon Magic, med

Size:  500 pieces
Dimensions: 35.56 cm x 48.26 cm
Artist: Myles Pinkney
Producer: Sure-Lox, The Canadian Group, Glow series, 2007, #81200-5

Puzzle: Simple and pleasant puzzle to do. The Sure-Lox pieces fit together well, and there are enough distinct regions to split the puzzle into areas that are trivial to complete. A logical place to start is the woman’s face, hair, hands, dress, and the belt. The purple, grey, and dark areas can also be easily completed. The remaining regions of the dress and the blue of the waves can follow.

Puzzle: Wizard Stonehedge by Meiklejohn

Meiklejohn - Wizard Stonehedge, med

Size:  550 pieces
Dimensions: 61 cm x 46 cm
Artist: Meiklejohn
Producer: Ceaco, Glow in the Dark, Series 5, 2004, #2333-32

Puzzle: Simple puzzle to do: large distinct colour regions, large pieces and clear boundaries. Wizard’s face and robe, blue  light bordering it,  gold embellishments on the robe, hat with the star, the dragon ball, the lightening, and the skyline are all easily assembled. The red sky region, the hands, and the landscape can follow, leaving the rest of the pieces to fall into place.

Notes: Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument in Wiltshire, England, about 3.2 km west of Amesbury and 13 km north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is the remains of a ring of standing stones set within earthworks. It is in the middle of the most dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, including several hundred burial mounds. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Dragon Fire by David Penfound


Size
: 550 pieces
Dimensions: 61cm x 46cm
Artist: David Penfound
Producer: Ceaco, Glow in the Dark series, #2333-43
Puzzle: The dragon’s wings, flames, the firepit, and the woman’s robes are distinct enough to allow for these regions to be filled first. Dragon’s neck, the smoke, and the rest of the figure follow, leaving a few black, dark blue, and dark leafy regions to complete the puzzle. Overall, as with most 550+piece  Ceaco puzzles, the differing shapes of large pieces makes this puzzle easy to complete.

Dragon: A dragon is a mythological representation of a reptile. In antiquity, dragons were mostly envisaged as serpents, but since the Middle Ages, it has become common to depict them with legs, resembling a lizard.

Dragons are usually shown in modern times with a body like a huge lizard, or a snake with two pairs of lizard-type legs, and able to emit fire from their mouths. The European dragon has bat-like wings growing from its back. A dragon-like creature with wings but only a single pair of legs is known as a wyvern. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Fairy Dance


Size
: 550 pieces
Dimensions: 60.96cm x 45.72cm
ProducerCeaco, Meiklejohn Graphics, 2003, #2333-14

Notes: The folklores of the British Isles contain a wealth of fairy lore, including the idea from which fairy rings take their name: the phenomena result from the dancing of fairies. In 19th-century Wales, fairies were almost invariably described as dancing in a group when encountered, and in Scotland and Wales in the late 20th century, stories about fairy rings were still common; some Welsh even claimed to have joined a fairy dance. Victorian folklorists regarded fairies and witches as related, based in part on the idea that both were believed to dance in circles. These revels are particularly associated with moonlit nights, the rings only becoming visible to mortals the following morning. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Peacock Daze by Josephine Wall


Size
: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 33.02cm x 48.26cm
Producer:  Mega Brands America, 2008, #50884
Artist: Josephine Wall

Notes:  Deep in the heart of a rose filled garden, overpowered by an intoxicating perfume, a maiden is transported into a world of daydreams. As she drifts into a trance like state, she imagines herself adorned with peacocks and exotic flowers. She enjoys her fleeting moments of escapism. [Josephine Wall’s site]

Puzzle: Heart and Soul by Josephine Wall


Size
: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 33.02cm x 48.26cm
Producer:  Mega Brands America, 2008, #50884
Artist: Josephine Wall

Notes:  The butterfly maiden looks inquiringly up at the heavens, soul-searching as she watches the clouds form layer upon layer of strange and wonderful lands.Beneath her multicoloured, gossamer headdress beats the heart of a lion offering strength to the gentle souls in flight.A swirl of flowers forming a garland around the “Queen of the Jungle”, gradually blends into sea and stars.This transitional plane is the meeting place between the butterfly’s ethereal and gentle world and the lion’s proud and powerful domain. The outcome of this meeting is a perfect blend for life. [Josephine Wall’s site]

Puzzle: Iris – Keeper of the Rainbow by Josephine Wall


Size
: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 33.02cm x 48.26cm
Producer:  Mega Brands America, 2008, #50884
Artist: Josephine Wall

Notes:  Throughout the ages, the rainbow has been the symbol of hope, a promise of better things to come. The ancient Greeks personified the rainbow as the goddess Iris, the favourite handmaiden and messenger of Hera, the queen of the heavenly court of Olympus. Carried by her shimmering wings, Iris travels so swiftly that mortals can see only the trail of her rainbow-coloured passage across the sky. [Josephine Wall’s site]

Puzzle: My Lady Unicorn by Josephine Wall


Size
: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 33.02cm x 48.26cm
Producer:  Mega Brands America, 2008, #50884
Artist: Josephine Wall

Notes:  All Unicorns are special creatures with magical powers beyond our imagination, but on a distant world lives a species called ladycorns! These beautiful and mysterious beings are able to communicate either by voice or with an array of musical sounds created by a harp like growth on their forehead. Their world is one of tranquillity and peace where nature is revered and the balance of the universe is maintained. [Josephine Wall’s site]

Puzzle: Nanette’s Cottage by Thomas Kinkade


Size
: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 69cm x 51cm
Producer:  Ceaco, 2009, #3310-90
Artist: Thomas Kinkade

Notes:  Thomas has placed a total of 25 N’s within this painting in special commemoration and tribute to his wife Nanette, for her partnership in his 25 years as a published artist. The inspiration for this painting came about  from a cottage just like this, in which Thomas and Nanette lived in, in England when they were first married. Their wedding date is May 2, 1982. [Puzzle box]

Puzzle: Dragon Spell


Size: 300 pieces
Dimensions: 45.72cm x 35.56cm
Author
: Meiklejohn Graphics, UK/Applejack Licensing
Producer:
Ceaco, 3 Glow in the Dark Jigsaw Puzzles, # 3562-2
Notes
Evocation is the act of calling or summoning a spirit, demon, god or other supernatural agent, in the Western mystery tradition. Comparable practices exist in many religions and magical traditions.

Conjuration in traditional and most contemporary usage refers to a magical act of invoking spirits or using incantations or charms to cast magical spells. In the context of legerdemain, it may also refer to the performance of illusion or magic tricks for show. This article discusses mainly the original and primary usage, describing acts of a supernatural or paranormal nature.

The word conjuration (from Latin conjure, conjurare, to “swear together”) can be interpreted in several different ways: as an invocation or evocation (the latter in the sense of binding by a vow); as an exorcism; and as an act of producing effects by magical means. [Wiki]


Puzzle: Blue Dragon by Richard Kelly

Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 30.48cm x 40.64cm
Artist
: Richard Kelly
Producer:
Ceaco, 3 Glow in the Dark Jigsaw Puzzles, # 3562-2
Notes
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that features in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and which is ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern mythologies, and the Chinese dragon, with counterparts in Japan, Korea and other East Asian countries.

The two traditions may have evolved separately, but have influenced each to a certain extent, particularly with the cross-cultural contact of recent centuries.

The word dragon entered the English language in the early 13th century from Old French dragon, which in turn comes from Latin draconem (nominative draco) meaning “huge serpent, dragon,” from the Greek word δράκων, drakon (genitive drakontos, δράκοντος) “serpent, giant seafish”, which is believed to have come from an earlier stem drak-, a stem of derkesthai, “to see clearly,” from Proto-Indo-European derk- “to see” or “the one with the (deadly) glance.” The Greek and Latin term referred to any great serpent, not necessarily mythological, and this usage was also current in English up to the 18th century. [Wiki]


Puzzle: Spellbound by Myles Pinkney

Size: 100 pieces
Dimensions: 22.86cm x 17.78cm
Artist: Myles Pinkney, 2003
Producer:
Ceaco, 3 Glow in the Dark Jigsaw Puzzles, # 3562-2
Box:
photo
Notes
: Spellbound

The night is darkening round me,
The wild winds coldly blow;
But a tyrant spell has bound me
And I cannot, cannot go.

The giant trees are bending
Their bare boughs weighed with snow.
And the storm is fast descending,
And yet I cannot go.

Clouds beyond clouds above me,
Wastes beyond wastes below;
But nothing drear can move me;
I will not, cannot go.

[Emily Jane Bronte]

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Puzzle: Raising the Dragon by Myles Pinkney

Size: 550 pieces
Dimensions: 61cm x 46cm
Artist:
Myles Pinkney
Producer
: Ceaco, Glow in the Dark series, 2004
Notes: Looking at a Myles Pinkney painting is like seeing an entire movie in a single frame. First the image catches your eye, then you notice additional nuances as you travel around- and within- each painting. It’s not unusual for someone to have a print for years, and then to suddenly see some new detail that had somehow previously escaped their detection.

Myles Pinkney’s paintings also depict a larger universe. The shape of it becomes more apparent with each new painting you see. Twisted logic, incredible detail, and a quirky sense of humor all combine to create a world of infinite impossibilities into which the viewer is drawn again and again. [Reno Goodale, Biography on the Myles Pinkney site]

Puzzle: Violin by Victoria Francés (from Favole book)

Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 48.26cm x 68.58cm
Producer: Heye, #29197
Artist:
Victoria Francés
Notes: Victoria Francés was born on October 25th, 1982. From her early childhood she was fascinated by the beauty of the forest in Galicia, where she spent much of her infancy. After traveling to cities like London and Paris she was hypnotized by the atmosphere there, the same that brought to life legendary masterpieces of Gothic literature. Her illustrations and sketches recall the dreamlike world of Gothic Romanticism.

Influenced by pre-Raphaelite paintings, she chooses subjects that take us to a symbolic, magical and ancient world. All the sufferings of the outcast of this world is shown in dark castles and mansions with flickering lights, with the distinct influence of Goethe, Edgar Allan Poe, Baudelaire and even Bram Stoker. [Fan site, since the official site is currently in Spanish only]

[Victoria’s] first illustrated book, Favole, a remembrance of Verona, Venice and Genoa, was first released on 23 April 2003. [Wiki]