Tag: Fine Art Puzzles

Woman with a Parasol, Facing Right

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles5 Comments

Woman with a Parasol, Facing Right by Claude Monet – Robert Frederick – 100 pieces

I really wanted to enjoy this puzzle, sadly I was quite disappointed in it’s quality. Fine Art puzzles can be quite difficult with the painterly style and brush strokes, but the bent pieces and overly shiny finish made it even more troublesome than usual.

This was my first time with a Robert Frederick puzzle, and while I don’t like to make snap judgements I was pretty let down by this brand. I’ll hold off making a decision about the brand in general until there have been one or two more puzzles assembled, but so far it ain’t looking good.

Although the pieces were quite thick and sturdy, that in itself made the first problem I’m going to tell you about even worse. There were SO MANY bent pieces! And with a thick and sturdy chipboard, once it’s bent trying to get it back into shape is a losing battle. The finished puzzle didn’t lie flat because of all the bent pieces that I couldn’t get back to their original configuration.

My second issue with this puzzle was the EXTREMELY shiny finish. It was so shiny that even with the lightest areas of the puzzle I was constantly having to tilt my head to be sure what the piece actually looked like. I’m not a fan of the extra shiny coating on a puzzle. Not everyone can work with natural lighting (my puzzle board is in a room with only artificial lighting) and the shine makes it very difficult to see what you’re doing.

On the positive side…there were a good variety of piece shapes, the chipboard was thick and sturdy, and the fit was very nice. But to me those things don’t mean much with bent pieces that prevent the puzzle from lying flat and a shiny finish that makes it difficult to see what you’re doing under any artificial lighting.

While I love the actual artwork by Monet, this isn’t an image that I would dare to try in a larger piece count. Finding it in only 100 pieces made me quite happy, but unfortunately the quality left a lot to be desired.

Garden Study of the Vickers Children

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

Garden Study of the Vickers Children by John Singer Sargent – Laurel Ink – 500 pieces

Fine Art puzzle images aren’t usually my thing, but there was something about this one that I couldn’t resist; there’s something about the faces of the children but I’m not sure I could articulate what that is. Not only is the artwork striking, but the puzzle is from a company I hadn’t heard of before – the added excitement of trying out a new brand!

The quality of this puzzle was good/very good. The chipboard is a good thickness and there are an excellent variety of piece shapes. The fit is very good, as is the image reproduction; the finish was somewhat shiny which did cause me a few problems, but it wasn’t too bad. My only quality concern was quite a few pieces still attached.

Whoever assembled this puzzle before didn’t separate all the pieces; so there were probably about 40 or more with two pieces attached, and some with more than three or four pieces still connected together. Separating the pieces caused little bits of cardboard to stick up at the corners of the pieces, and in some places it shows in the finished image. Overall though, it was a good quality puzzle which made me very happy.

The entire back of the box was dedicated to a small biography of the painter, John Singer Sargent. It was an interesting read, and I enjoyed both learning about him and his work and assembling the puzzle.

I really did well on my last trip to the thrift store. I found both this one and the 65 year old Tuco; Mom would be proud. 💖

Still Life – Fast Moving

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

Still Life-Fast Moving by Salvador Dali – Ravensburger – 300 pieces

Oh man this was so much fun, it was done in one sitting! I should have taken a break, I should have taken several breaks – because I paid for my insistence on staying seated for that long – but it was worth it. I love puzzles. 💛

This was a fantastic puzzle to do after the horrid mandala by Page Publications; this was like eating fresh fruit after having to lick garbage – it tastes like nectar from the gods. Sorry for the gross imagery, but honestly the difference between the two was equally as great. Ravensburger quality – especially with the smaller piece counts – is excellent!

This is actually the first image by Salvador Dali that I’ve done and I enjoyed it very much. Famous art doesn’t always make for the most entertaining puzzles (for me anyways), and I haven’t seen one of Dali’s works from a good brand that I wanted to assemble until now. Eternal thanks to my friend and fellow puzzle blogger Nicola from Puzzler1909 for sending this in our puzzle swap – it was lovely!

Started with the bedspread/tablecloth, it was the most difficult part, and sometimes I like to get the hard parts out of the way at the beginning.

Loved this section, it’s so crisp and clear it looks almost like a photograph – fantastic!

Tudor Portraits

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

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Portrait of an Unknown Lady (French School) – Past Times – 500 pieces

Isn’t this a lovely puzzle image? I think so, and there’s another image on the back; although he’s not as pretty as she is. Mom and I don’t usually do fine art puzzles, but this beauty spoke to me and I just had to assemble it on our puzzle/visit day. It seems as if there have been more double-sided puzzles in my orbit lately, and I’m really enjoying them. Plus, there’s the added bonus of being able to flip it over and use the opposite image for help with assembly. (When we got down to only black background on the Unknown Lady, we were able to flip it and use the wording along the edge of The Earl to help us finish! 😉 )

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Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester by Nicholas Hilliard

I loved assembling this puzzle with mom, we had a great time. The images are so different from what we normally puzzle, it made it a little more interesting for us. I still love my cartoon and collage puzzles, but there’s nothing wrong with switching things up every now and then to keep it fresh. I’ve learned from reviewing puzzles that I can’t always tell whether or not a puzzle will be an entertaining assembly. Many times I’m surprised by how much I enjoy puzzling an image that I would not normally choose for myself.

It was a bit of a challenge with all the darkness on both sides, but we got there in the end. The pieces were of a good thickness and fit together well. (It wasn’t difficult to lift and flip over) I’ve found it’s nice to have a friend to help when you’re working on a more challenging image, I’m less likely to give up or become frustrated if there’s someone sitting next to me working on it too. Plus, every piece they put in is one less you have to look through, right? And there’s no one better for me to assemble puzzles with than my mom – she’s the best!

My puzzle “dealer” always find the most interesting and different puzzles to feed our addiction. We’re very lucky to have so many thrift stores in our area, and even when there are slim pickings they usually have at least a puzzle or two that looks like fun. I try not to take it for granted, I know many places don’t have thrift stores/charity shops; we’re certainly fortunate to have so many close by!