Home Posts tagged "puzzle" (Page 8)

Tag: puzzle

Puzzle: Lakeside Retreat by John Powell

John Powell - Lakeside Retreat, med
Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 73 cm x 48.57 cm
Artist: John Powell has worked in the arts through out his life. Born in Hollywood, California, he began to paint at the age of 16. Over the past 35 years he has melded his life experiences into a signature style of painting. His paintings are precise and intricate, laced with lyrical realism and expressing his love for color, flowers, gardens, pottery and art from around the world, interesting fabrics and visions of his travels.

Painting: original
Producer: The Canadian Group, Sure-Lox, 2013, #44724-1

Puzzle: Beautifully-complex puzzle with many colourful regions. There are many ways to approach it: some of the easier parts to assemble first are the turquoise flower pot, the blue box in the bottom right, the red cloth draped over the bench, the checkered rose tablecloth, the pears and their bowl, the large and smaller red vases, the yellow flowered tablecloth, the bottom left corner, the flowers in the vases, and the river in the background. There are many other smaller distinct regions that can then be positioned in place.

Puzzle: Winter Worship

Winter worship, med
Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 48.5 cm x 35.5 cm
Producer: Sure-Lox, The Canadian Group

Puzzle: A simple puzzle to do due to its small size. The orange of the buildings, and the flowing green of the river are good places to start, and the bridge railing serves as a horizontal guide separating the picture into two regions. The borders of snow-laden trees, the building, and the sky makes the top easy to assemble, and the rest of the puzzle shapes itself around the bridge and the river. Festive and pleasant to the eye.

Notes: Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. The word is derived from the Old English weorþscipe, meaning worship, honour shown to an object, which has been etymologised as “worthiness or worth-ship”—to give, at its simplest, worth to something. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Nature mort in rose

Nature mort in rose, med

Size: 750 pieces
Dimensions: 46 cm x 60 cm
Producer: unknown

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

Puzzle: An easy puzzle to do with pieces fitting well together. Distinct colour ranges on the yellow drawing, the rose curtain, the pillars, the blue of the window, the vertical guides of the candle and the books, as well as the horizontal guide of the table edge, split this puzzle into easy-to-manage regions. The pieces are large and the colours distinct enough to enjoy even in suboptimal lighting.

Puzzle: Santa Maria Della Salute, Venice, Italy

Santa Maria Della Salute, Venice, Italy, med
Size: 750 pieces
Dimensions: 59.69 cm x 39.37 cm
Producer: Sure-Lox, The Canadian Group

Puzzle:  This puzzle is a bit challenging due to large areas of almost uniformed-coloured sky, and the tightly-fitting side-view of the buildings with many small details, but Sure-Lox pieces come to the rescue by fitting into place unambiguously. The domes of the church, its walls, and the border between the sky and the buildings are good places to start. The blue and white poles in the water, the lower building in the bottom left corner, the water, and the buildings in the bottom right are some of the easier regions to complete next. From that point on, the rest of the puzzle can be assembled.

Notes: Santa Maria della Salute, commonly known simply as the Salute, is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica located in the Dorsoduro sestiere of the Italian city of Venice. It stands on a narrow finger of land between the Grand Canal and the Bacino di San Marco making the church visible when entering the Piazza San Marco from the water. The Salute is part of the parish of the Gesuati and is the most recent of the so-called plague-churches.

In 1630, Venice experienced an unusually devastating outbreak of the plague. As a votive offering for the city’s deliverance from the pestilence, the Republic of Venice vowed to build and dedicate a church to Our Lady of Health (or of Deliverance, Italian: Salute). The church was designed in the then fashionable baroque style by Baldassare Longhena, who studied under the architect Vincenzo Scamozzi. Construction began in 1631. Most of the objects of art housed in the church bear references to the Black Death. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Sydney, Australia

Sydney, Australia, med
Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 48.5 cm x 35.5 cm
Producer: Sure-Lox, The Canadian Group

Puzzle: A simple puzzle to do, and due to Sure-Lox well-fitting pieces a fast one. The uniform colour of the sky and the highlights on the water are good places to start, as well as the larger white/lilac building. The orange flags and the building behind them, as well as the darker skyscrapers pave way for the rest of the pieces to fall into place.

Notes: Sydney is the state capital of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. It is on Australia’s south-east coast, on the Tasman Sea. Inhabitants of Sydney are called Sydneysiders, comprising a cosmopolitan and international population.

The site of the first British colony in Australia, Sydney was established in 1788 at Sydney Cove by Arthur Phillip, commodore of the First Fleet, as a penal colony. The city is built on hills surrounding Port Jackson, which is commonly known as Sydney Harbour, where the iconic Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge are prominent structures. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Garden’s Gate

Garden's Gate, med

Size: 750 pieces
Dimensions: 59.69 cm x 39.37 cm
Producer: Sure-Lox, The Canadian Group

Puzzle: A serene puzzle to do, and being smaller with well-fitting together Sure-Lox pieces, is not too challenging. The red of the maple leaves on the tree, the lantern, the gate, the bright white/yellow regions of sunlit sky, and the wall with smaller rocks are good places to start. Once the wall is complete, tree trunks and leaves, as well as darker tree areas can be filled in.

Puzzle: Old Mill

Old mill, med
Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 73 cm x 48.57 cm
Producer: Sure-Lox, The Canadian Group

Puzzle: A serene puzzle, not very challenging. The bridge, the waterfall, the flowers in the bottom left corner, the mill building, and the rocks are good places to start. The tree trunks provide vertical guides, the dark area with the wheel at the bottom of the building is distinct, and the rest of the grass, forest, and sky pieces can be filled in without much trouble.

Notes: A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping (rolling, grinding or wire drawing).

Typically, water is diverted from a river or impoundment or mill pond to a turbine or water wheel, along a channel or pipe (variously known as a flume, head race, mill race, leat, leet, lade (Scots) or penstock). The force of the water’s movement drives the blades of a wheel or turbine, which in turn rotates an axle that drives the mill’s other machinery. Water leaving the wheel or turbine is drained through a tail race, but this channel may also be the head race of yet another wheel, turbine or mill. The passage of water is controlled by sluice gates that allow maintenance and some measure of flood control; large mill complexes may have dozens of sluices controlling complicated interconnected races that feed multiple buildings and industrial processes. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Sri Mariamman Temple

Sri Mariamman Temple, med
Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 48.1 cm x 67.95 cm
Producer: Mega Puzzles, Structures series, 2013, No. 50941AAN, A 27053 PP

Puzzle: Another puzzle from the Structures series (see Astronomical Clock, Prague, Czech Republic, Galleries Lafayette, Paris, and Church of the Savior, St. Petersburg for more). A delight for the eyes, this puzzle is complex due to many similarly-coloured small regions and a large number of small detail. It requires some time and attention, but is definitely a pleasure to do. Any small uniformly-coloured areas are good places to start: be that the red dress of a figure in the bottom right corner, the blue steps at bottom right, the blue figure in the middle, and so on. Other good regions to do is the borders between areas – such as the vertical dividers on the left side and the balcony ledges. The various geometrical patters decorating the building can also be assembled. Putting all these pieces together requires focus and reveals many small details not easily noticed from just looking at the picture on the box.

Notes: The Sri Mariamman Temple is Singapore’s oldest Hindu temple. It is an agamic temple, built in the Dravidian style. The Sri Mariamman Temple was founded in 1827 by Naraina Pillai, eight years after the East India Company established a trading settlement in Singapore.

Built in the South Indian Dravidian style, this temple features a gopuram that rises above the main entrance along South Bridge Road. It is richly embellished with six tiers of sculptures of Hindu deities, other figures and ornamental decorations. The tower tapers up towards to a moulded ornamental ridge. The scale of each tier and its sculptures is slightly smaller than that of the tier immediately below it. This helps to create the illusion of height and adds to the symbolic importance of the building. Flanking the gopuram are a sculpture of Murugan on the right and Krishna on the left (as one enters). The sculptures are all of plaster, which allows for fine detailing. They are painted in a variety of bright colours, which adds to the visually spectacular quality of the gopuram. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Church of the Savior, St. Petersburg

Church of the Savior, St. Petersburg, med
Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 67.95 cm x 48.1 cm
Producer: Mega Puzzles, Structures series, 2013, No. 50941AAN, A 27053 PP

Puzzle: Another eye-candy puzzle from the Structures series (see Astronomical Clock, Prague, Czech Republic and Galleries Lafayette, Paris for more), with many distinct regions. There are many ways of approaching it: top semi-circle with windows, bottom light yellow semi-circle, central piece in reds, oranges, and yellows, winged by distinct blue regions, the chandeliers, the top corner regions separating distinct regions of colour by diagonal guides, flower border outlining the central area, the pillars with figures and horizontal flower borders, circles with faces. Once the distinct regions are done, they can be put together, and the rest of the pieces easily fit in. Beautiful puzzle, very enjoyable to do.

Notes: The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood is one of the main sights of St. Petersburg, Russia. It is also variously called the Church on Spilt Blood and the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, its official name. This Church was built on the site where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated and was dedicated in his memory.

The Church contains over 7500 square metres of mosaics—according to its restorers. The interior was designed by some of the most celebrated Russian artists of the day—including Viktor Vasnetsov, Mikhail Nesterov and Mikhail Vrubel — but the church’s chief architect, Alfred Alexandrovich Parland, was relatively little-known (born in St. Petersburg in 1842 in a Baltic-German Lutheran family). The walls and ceilings inside the Church are completely covered in intricately detailed mosaics — the main pictures being biblical scenes or figures — but with very fine patterned borders setting off each picture. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Galleries Lafayette, Paris

Galleries Lafayette, Paris, med
Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 67.95 cm x 48.1 cm
Producer: Mega Puzzles, Structures series, 2013, No. 50941AAN, A 27053 PP

Puzzle: A non-trivial puzzle from the Structures series (see Astronomical Clock, Prague, Czech Republic and Church of the Savior, St. Petersburg for more), with a repeating radial pattern. Due to many similar regions and repeated geometrical patterns, this puzzle is challenging. The easiest place to start is the top left corner with the distinct orange, green and blue part of the dome, followed by its golden border and brown and golden thick supports that fan out of the dome, with flower patterns inside. Several white supports spreading from the dome can be used as guides. The yellow centres of the large flowers within the stained glass pattern can be positioned based on their differences, and the blue and green flowers can be assembled in place. The circular brown guides supporting the white and blue glass make it easier to complete the bottom right corner. Overall not a quick but an enjoyable puzzle to do, natural light is a plus.

Notes: The Galeries Lafayette (is an upmarket French department store company located on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. In 1895, Théophile Bader and his cousin Alphonse Kahn opened a fashion store in a small haberdasher’s shop at the corner of rue La Fayette and the Chaussée d’Antin, in Paris. In 1896, their company purchased the entire building at 1 rue La Fayette; in 1905 they acquired the buildings at 38, 40 and 42, boulevard Haussmann and 15 rue de la Chaussée d’Antin. Bader commissioned the architect Georges Chedanne and his pupil Ferdinand Chanut to design the store at the Haussmann location, where a glass and steel dome and Art Nouveau staircases were finished in 1912. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Birds of the Season, 3 of 4, by Greg Giordano

Birds 2, med

Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 40.64cm x 50.8cm
Producer: Karmin International, Birds of the Season series
Artist: Greg Giordano

Puzzle: One of the 4 puzzles in the box (first, second, third, fourth). As the others, it’s pleasant to make with the bright flowers and green leaves. The uniform areas of the fence and the watering can, the smaller leaves and sky, the white narcissus flowers and the bird’s bright red and black plumage are good places to start. Tulips and blue and lavender flowers stand out as well. Those could be followed by the darker regions, the green leaves, and the yellow narcissus flowers, leaving the rest easy to complete.

Puzzle: Birds of the Season, 2 of 4, by Greg Giordano

Birds 1, med

Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 40.64cm x 50.8cm
Producer: Karmin International, Birds of the Season series
Artist: Greg Giordano

Puzzle: One of the 4 puzzles in the box (first, second, third, fourth). Easy to start assembly from the wheel, the birds, and the top background. The flowers are a little more tricky, but the bottom dark part can be filled in first, followed by the yellow centres of the daisies, the washed out green at the bottom centre, yellow patch of colour at the bottom of the wheel, and the rest should fall into place after that.

Puzzle: Birds of the Season, 1 of 4, by Greg Giordano

Birds 3, med
Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 40.64cm x 50.8cm
Producer: Karmin International, Birds of the Season series
Artist: Greg Giordano

Puzzle: One of the 4 puzzles in the box (first, second, third, fourth). The bright red bird is the logical start of the this puzzle. The rest of it looks relatively uniform, so assembling darker areas, the large white leaves and the flower centres is one way to approach this puzzle, filling in the leaves and the branches afterwards.

Puzzle: Trinity Church

Trinity Church, med

Size:  500 pieces
Dimensions: 48.5 cm x 35.5 cm
Producer: Sure-Lox

Puzzle: This puzzle is not very exciting to do due to dull grays of the building and the dark greens of the bushes and trees occupying the most of the picture, but Sure-Lox pieces fit together well and the size is small enough to not present a challenge. I just wish the photograph had more colour and contrast in it to really highlight the beauty of the old architecture. The sequence of assembly could start with the sky and its boundary with the roof and the trees, and with the grass and its boundary with the flowers. The border between the building and the bushes provides a good horizontal guide, and the tall windows can serve as vertical guides. From that point on, the picture is trivial to assemble.

Notes: I no longer have the puzzle box, so I’m unsure where this church is situated (there are plenty of Trinity churches around the world, it seems). If you have any information on the location of this building, I’d love to know.

Puzzle: Golden Hall, Edoras, 3D

Golden Hall, Edoras, LotR, closeup, med

Size:  742 pieces (foam-backed), 29 cardboard accessories
Dimensions: 42 cm x 49.5 cm x 22 cm
Producer: Wrebbit 3D, Lord of the Rings series, 2012, #02003, made in Canada

Instructions:

  1. Remove and sets aside red dotted pieces (they are not a part of the actual puzzle).
  2. Assemble puzzle sections flat as you would a 2D puzzle.
  3. Once all sections are assembled, build the 3D puzzle using the supports provided and embellish with decorative pieces.

Puzzle: I have made this puzzle a few months ago, but did not get around to documenting it until now. It carries sentimental significance to me because I love all things Tolkien, and the designs are tugging at my heart strings, but the implementation could be better. Foam is not the greatest material to hold up a 3D puzzle, as I have previously found out with a Taj Mahal puzzle made by Wrebbit (not to be confused with the CubicFun one made of paper), and after discovering the CubicFun puzzles earlier this autumn I don’t think I would assemble another foam 3D one, unless the subject was as attractive to me as the Golden Hall of Edoras.

Below are the progress photos of the assembly – the process itself was not easy since foam does not hold together that well, so the intermediary stages of the structures being attached to each other have no photos to them: I had enough trouble keeping them holding together.

Here is the base surrounding the hall:

Golden Hall, Edoras, LotR, base surrounding, med

And here is the overview of all the rest of the assembled components, followed by close-ups:

Golden Hall, Edoras, LotR, assembled pieces whole, med

Golden Hall, Edoras, LotR, assembled pieces 6, med

Golden Hall, Edoras, LotR, assembled pieces 5, med

Golden Hall, Edoras, LotR, assembled pieces 4, med

Golden Hall, Edoras, LotR, assembled pieces 3, med

Golden Hall, Edoras, LotR, assembled pieces 2, med

Golden Hall, Edoras, LotR, assembled pieces 1, med

The assembled hall looks good from far away, but pieces do not fit together very well, making for a choppy composition and crooked angles. Additionally, some of the embellishment pieces on the roof are printed only on one side which I find a disappointing approach: cutting corners on such little details makes the entire building look unfinished.

Golden Hall, Edoras, LotR, assembled front, med

Golden Hall, Edoras, LotR, assembled side 2, med

Golden Hall, Edoras, LotR, assembled side 1, med

Golden Hall, Edoras, LotR, assembled back, med

Golden Hall, Edoras, LotR, assembled back side, med

Golden Hall, Edoras, LotR, assembled angle, med

Notes: The city of Edoras was built on a hill in a valley of the White Mountains (Ered Nimrais) by Rohan’s second King, Brego son of Eorl the Young. Before this, Rohan’s capital was at Aldburg in the Folde.

As Rohan consisted of mostly small villages and farmsteads, Edoras was Rohan’s only real city, and holds the Golden Hall of Meduseld. It was here that Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, and Gandalf meet with King Théoden. They were admitted by Hama, the door warden who permitted Gandalf to keep his staff with him. [Lord of the Rings wiki]

Puzzle: Greenhouse

Greenhouse, med

Size:  1000 pieces
Dimensions: 54.5cm x 70cm

Puzzle: Beautiful hydrangea domes make this puzzle a serene one to do. The easiest place to start are the walls and the roof of the greenhouse, the paths, the evergreen tree, and the lighter blue flowers at the bottom. The fern-like blooms, the yellow regions, and the tulips are distinct to put together as well. The rest of the puzzle can be done in any order. Good lighting is a plus.

Notes: I do not have a record of the producer of this puzzle as I do not have the box anymore. A clarification is welcome – if you have any clue as to the details regarding this puzzle, I would much appreciate that information.

Puzzle: Autumn Lake by Darrell Bush

Darrell Bush - Autumn Lake, med
Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 50.8 cm x 68.58 cm
Producer: Karmin International, The art of Darrell Bush series, 2004

Puzzle: Beatutiful puzzle in vibrant colours with many distinct regions – a pleasure to do. Good starting points are the sunlit sky and water, the birds, the horizon line and the water: since there are many horizontally-separated water colour regions, that part is a breeze. The house, the bright lantern with surrounding grass, the birch tree, the boat and the dock allow the rest of the pieces fall into place.

Artist: Darrell Bush – Awared-winning artist Darrell Bush brilliantly captures the unspoiled, simple beauty of the outdoors. From a North Woods campsite to a polished wooden runabout resting on a quiet lake, Bush’s acrylics suggest that these peaceful settings are only a memory away. He familiarizes the viewer with outdoor and wildlife subjects while often adding a touch of nostalgia.

In 1984,after graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in commercial art from Northern Illinois University, Bush moved to Minnesota and worked as a commercial illustrator for five years. “It was during this time I began pursuing a second career, my true love, wildlife art,” he said. In 1987, he won his first major award, the Idaho Uploand Game Stamp Competition. In 1990, he became a full-time artist and one year later signed with Hadley House.

Since then, Bush’s success has escalated dramatically. He received international recognition when he was chosen for the September, 1996 “Wonders of Nature” exhibit in Hong Kong. U.S.ART named him among America’s Most Popular Artists in 1995, 1996 and 1998.

He and his family reside in Moline. [Puzzle box, mistakes omitted]

By the same artist the other puzzles available in the series are: “Crescent Moon Bay”, “The End of a Perfect Day“, “Twilight Calm”.

Puzzle: Gateway Solitude

Gateway Solitude, med
Size: 500 pieces, 1 missing
Dimensions: 33.9 cm x 45.4 cm
Producer: Wrebbit, Perfalock foam puzzle series, 2003, 22406

Puzzle: I felt like assembling a foam puzzle which I haven’t done lately. The fit is unique and takes getting used to, but quite pleasant. A good starting point was the walkway, since it provided a vertical guide and split the bottom of the puzzle into three distinct regions. The gate and the brick pillars came afterwards, followed by the flower bunches, the trees, and the sky. Simple and enjoyable puzzle to do.

Notes: IntroducingPerfalock, the first puzzle that goes anywhere without going to pieces! Make it, move it, mount it, and it won’t fall apart. Precisely crafted out of flexible foam, Perfalock pieces fit together so perfectly you can barely see the seams! Its unique backing material means that Perfalock puzzles stay together without messy glue. Perfalock from Wrebbit. We make great puzzles happen. [Puzzle box]