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Tag: nature

Puzzle: Passion Flower

Passion Flower, med

Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 30.02 cm x 48.26 cm
Producer: Mega Puzzles, Vibrant series, 2014, No. 51410ABN, A 04034 LP
Photographer: Johnnyraff

Puzzle: Lovely puzzle to make — not extremely difficult, but not completely trivial either. The bright colours and clear boundaries split the image into several logical areas, and repetitive elements add challenge. An easy place to start is the three-pronged purple stigma(?) on the left, along with the green background, as well as the flower centre with two yellow circles split by a dark purple dotted border. Next the purple, the white, and the blue circles made by the petal colours can be tackled.

Puzzle: Tropical Flowers

Tropical flowers, med

Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 48.10 cm x 67.95 cm
Producer: Mega Puzzles, Exotics series, 2014, No.50935ABN, A13113 PP
Puzzle: Vibrant, beautiful puzzle, made simpler by being divided into five smaller rectangular images separated by black borders that serve as vertical and horizontal guides. My four-year old loved helping me with this puzzle, and on his insistence it now adorns the wall above his bed, next to the Shell Game one.

Great places to start are the borders followed by clear yellow and oranges in each picture. The blue in the top left picture is unique, as are the striped petals in the left middle flower and the fanning out petals of the bottom left flower. The white borders of the large image flower and white and green patches of the bottom right flower are also distinct, allowing for quite a bit of the picture to be completed easily. The remaining red, fuchsia, and green colours can fill the remaining gaps.

Puzzle: Shangri-La Winter by Ciro Marchetti

Ciro Marchetti - Shangri-La Winter, med

Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 51cm x 68cm
Producer:  LPF Ltd., Holographic puzzle
Artist: Ciro Marchetti has had a successful graphic design career that has spanned working in Europe, South America and the US. He is a five-time recipient of the distinguished Photoshop GURU award, and three time winner of the Worldwide Photoshop Competition presented by the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. The current content and style of recent illustrations directly reflect his sources of interest and inspiration, allowing him to create richly detailed images that conjure up retro- tech worlds of fantasy and imagination. [Puzzle box]

Puzzle: I have found this puzzle on the Bits and Pieces site. It is by Ciro Marchetti, from the same series as City of Wands, Above the Clouds, and City of Coins.

Not a trivial puzzle, yet such a beautiful fantasy scene – a pleasure to assemble. I have started with the purple sails in the top left, the foxes and the owl, the red berries, the green polar bear, and the larger fish. The gazebo with the figure in a blue cape, the yellow area of the background, the rest of the ship, the swans, the submarine vessel, the castle, and the tree limbs came next. The mountains, water, small fish, and evergreens completed the picture.

Puzzle: Sunset Blaze by Viktor Shvaiko

Sunset Blaze, med

Size: 504 pieces
Dimensions: 45.7 cm x 27.3 cm
Producer: Sure-Lox pieces. Company unknown – I do not have the box anymore. If you have this information, please do share. There were 4 puzzles in the box: Autumn in Paris, Buca Francesco, Rue Lafayette Paris, and Sunset Blaze – all by the same artist.
Artist: Viktor Shvaiko

Puzzle: I have assembled a 1000-piece version of this puzzle a few years ago. It is a lovely and easy puzzle to do. The best regions to start are the yellow and blue sky, the mountain range, the sign over the sky, and the vertical guides of the building/sky border, the arches, and the door frame. The bright red chair, the orange ledge in the bottom center, the letters above the entrance, the terrace floor and the table are easily put together. The border of the city and the mountains, as well as the red-roofed houses can come next, followed by the flower arrangements around the arch. This leaves the green of trees and grass, the building interior, and the flowers growing around the ledge. Beautiful scenery.

Puzzle: Covered bridge

Covered bridge, med

Size: 500 pieces, 1 missing
Dimensions: 48.5 cm x 35.5 cm
Producer: Sure-Lox, The Canadian Group

Puzzle: Simple enough to complete due to many differently-coloured regions, this puzzle is a quick one to do. The Sure-Lox pieces fit  together snugly. One can start from the red of the bridge building, the beige and yellow regions of the roof and the roads, the black and brown of the bridge building, the white railings, the river water and the border between the mountains in the background and the sky. From that point on, the small buildings, the trees, and the remaining regions fit together easily.

Puzzle: Dürnstein, Austria

Durnstein, Austria, med

Size: 1000 pieces, 1 missing
Dimensions: 73 cm x 48.57 cm
Producer: Sure-Lox, The Canadian Group

Puzzle: Not a completely trivial puzzle to complete, due to the snow and trees on the mountains forming a somewhat-uniform pattern. It is simple to start from the more prominent regions, such as the bright buildings, the river/snow border, the snow on the roofs, and the steps going up into the mountains. Once that is done, the top mountain range is separated into mostly blue and mostly black regions, and the central blue tower serves as a vertical guide to assist the completion. The Sure-Lox pieces fit together well and simplify the process that would have been harder with more loosely-fitting pieces.

Notes: Dürnstein is a small town on the Danube river in the Krems-Land district, in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. It is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the Wachau region and also a well-known wine growing area.

The town gained its name from the medieval castle, Burgruine Dürnstein, which overlooked it. The castle was called “Duerrstein” or “Dürrstein”, from the German duerr/dürr meaning “dry” and Stein, “stone”. The castle was dry because it was situated on a rocky hill, high above the damp conditions of the Danube at the base of the hill, and it was built of stone. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Fire Sunset on Mount Rainier

Fire Sunset on Mount Rainier, med
Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 67.95 cm x 48.1 cm
Producer: Mega Puzzles, Vibrant series, 2013, No. 50420AAN, A 29073 LP
Artist: Kevin McNeal
Original: Last Bit Of Light – Paradise Area, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington

Puzzle: A beautiful puzzle that I managed to complete within a span of a single day, so easily the flow of piece placement continued. I have started with the sun, the orange and red regions of the sky, mountains, and snow, and the clouds, continuing to the pink highlights on the trees and the snow, the multiple colours of the sky, and finishing up with the purple of the snow and the bright blue of the sky at the top. A vibrant, peaceful, entrancing puzzle.

Notes: Mount Rainier is a massive stratovolcano located 87 km southeast of Seattle in the state of Washington, United States. It is the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States and the Cascade Volcanic Arc.

Typically, up to five earthquakes are recorded monthly near the summit. Swarms of five to ten shallow earthquakes over two or three days take place from time to time, predominantly in the region of 4 km below the summit. These earthquakes are thought to be caused by the circulation of hot fluids beneath Mount Rainier. Presumably, hot springs and steam vents within Mount Rainier National Park are generated by such fluids.

Glaciers are among the most conspicuous and dynamic geologic features on Mount Rainier. They erode the volcanic cone and are important sources of streamflow for several rivers, including some that provide water for hydroelectric power and irrigation. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Aspen Fantasy

Aspen Fantasy, med

Size: 750 pieces
Dimensions: 48.1cm x 64.8cm
Producer: RoseArt, Borders series

Puzzle: Another puzzle from the Borders series (in addition to the Mountain River one), it is a bit more complex. The aspen trees can be completed first, followed by the larger flowers and the rest of the pieces, but it’s not trivial since many regions look similar. Good lighting is a bonus, and the result is a vibrant forest scene.

Puzzle: Mountain River

Mountain Waterfall, med

Size: 750 pieces
Dimensions: 48.1cm x 64.8cm
Producer: RoseArt, Borders series

Notes: I’m missing the box for this puzzle and am unable to find the real name of it. If you have that information, could you please let me know?

Puzzle: A beautiful puzzle from the Borders series (there is also the Aspen Fantasy one), unfortunately due to being quite old in my collection, it is missing a corner. Flowers in the bottom right, the river, the larger rocks, and the sky are good places to start the assembly. The mountains and the fields in the background can follow, leaving the trees framing the picture. Not a trivial puzzle due to variety of piece shapes and small detail, but very pleasant on the eye.

Puzzle: Wildflowers by Tim Fitzharris

Tim Fitzharris - Wildflowers, med
Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 63.5 cm x 50.8 cm
Photographer: Tim Fitzharris, designed by Lisa Reid
Producer: Pomegranate Communications, Artpiece Puzzle series, Sierra Club, Catalog No: SC0403, ISBN: 978-0-7649-4095-8

Puzzle: Not a completely trivial puzzle to do as the flower regions contain small similar details across a large part of the puzzle. The cacti are easiest to do as they provide vertical guides for the top of the puzzle, and the purple backdrop can be filled in easily. For the flowers, tackling the top area among the cacti is easiest, followed by the regions of similar colour: yellow flowers and darker patch in the bottom right corner. The rest of the flowers are a matter of patiently filling things in. The pieces are good quality and fit together well.

Notes: “Sierra Club’s Mission:

  • To explore, enjoy and protect the wild places of the earth;
  • To practice and promote the responsible use of the earth’s ecosystems and resources;
  • To educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment;
  • And the use all lawful means to carry out these objectives.

A portion of the proceeds of the sale of this puzzle supports Sierra Club’s efforts to preserve and protect the planet [www.sierraclub.org].

Thoughtfully conceived and engagingly intricate, Pomegranate’s 1000-piece interlocking jigsaw puzzles combine superb color reproduction, stunning and unusual images, and sturdy construction to delight generations of puzzle solvers. Among our many artists are Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Maxfield Parrish, John William Waterhouse, Romare Bearden, Jules Chéret, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Edward Gorey, Tom Thomson, and Susan Seddon Boulet.” [Puzzle box]

Puzzle: Public Garden

Public Garden, med

Size:  1000 pieces
Dimensions: 73 cm x 48.57 cm
Producer: Sure-Lox, The Canadian Group, Glorious Gardens series,  2011, #40660-6

Puzzle: The gazebo, flowerbed, and grey walkways are a good place to start. Tree trunk on the right can serve as a vertical guideline. The blue of the sky, smaller garden details, and the green of the lawns can follow. From there, the remaining black parts can pave the way to the green tree leaves. Overall a pleasant puzzle, although my copy was strangely cut and unlike the usual Sure-Lox fit, the pieces did not stick together very well.

Notes: A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. Western gardens are almost universally based on plants, with garden often signifying a shortened form of botanical garden.

Some traditional types of eastern gardens, such as Zen gardens, use plants such as parsley. Xeriscape gardens use local native plants that do not require irrigation or extensive use of other resources while still providing the benefits of a garden environment. Gardens may exhibit structural enhancements, sometimes called follies, including water features such as fountains, ponds (with or without fish), waterfalls or creeks, dry creek beds, statuary, arbors, trellises and more. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Taj Mahal, India


Size: 750 pieces
Dimensions: 59.69cm x 39.37cm
Producer: Sure-Lox, The Canadian Group, images series, #43570-13
Notes: The Taj Mahal was constructed using materials from all over India and Asia and over 1,000 elephants were used to transport building materials. The translucent white marble was brought from Makrana, Rajasthan, the jasper from Punjab, jade and crystal from China. The turquoise was from Tibet and the Lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, while the sapphire came from Sri Lanka and the carnelian from Arabia. In all, twenty eight types of precious and semi-precious stones were inlaid into the white marble.

A labour force of twenty thousand workers was recruited across northern India. Sculptors from Bukhara, calligraphers from Syria and Persia, inlayers from southern India, stonecutters from Baluchistan, a specialist in building turrets, another who carved only marble flowers were part of the thirty-seven men who formed the creative unit. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Havasu Falls, Grand Canyon, U.S.A.


Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 48.26cm x 35.56cm
Producer: Sure-Lox, The Canadian Group, images series
Notes: A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.

Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens slowly, while downstream the erosion occurs more rapidly. As the watercourse increases its velocity at the edge of the waterfall, it plucks material from the riverbed. Whirlpools created in the turbulence as well as sand and stones carried by the watercourse increase the erosion capacity. This causes the waterfall to carve deeper into the bed and to recede upstream. Often over time, the waterfall will recede back to form a canyon or gorge downstream as it recedes upstream, and it will carve deeper into the ridge above it. The rate of retreat for a waterfall can be as high as one and half meters per year. [Wiki]

Puzzle: River of Life Triptych by Steven Michael Gardner


Size: 1500 pieces (3 puzzles of 500 pieces each)
Dimensions: 91cm x 91cm
Producer: MasterPieces
Painting: photo
Artist: Steven Michael Gardner is a native of San Diego, California, and I really loves all animals, the beauty of nature and the wonder of life itself. His love of the animal kingdom and passion for preserving our environment has given him the inspiration and basis for the subjects of his artwork. He has been drawing and painting as a full time artist since the age of 20. Many of his original designs have been widely published in magazines and books, and for many years he has created designs for zoos across the country. These are still available as signed and numbered prints, posters, jigsaw puzzles, notecards, and apparel wear. [Gardner Gallery site]

Notes: Find 13 eagles, 14 wolves, 10 bears [Puzzle box]. This puzzle consists of 3 separate puzzles that, when put together, create one large picture encompassing the land, the river, and the sky.