Puzzle Description

A Work of Art (G6266) is a 1000 piece puzzle by Steve Crisp. It measures 68 x 49 cms. when complete. Presumably, that's Steve sitting at the desk with a young family member pointing out that Steve is painting a picture of himself, painting a picture of himself, and so on. Something like a fractal, grandpa, which is a mathematical algorithm that allows you to look more and more closely at a sequential image which, as you do so, reveals another version of the same picture ad infinitum. What a clever young man!

On the wall are several Gibsons puzzle images that Steve painted. As you can see his contribution to the Gibsons catalogue is very impressive with, what appears to be, about a dozen images that are still in the catalogue. Steve's talents range from bucolic scenes of the English countryside to marching bands outside Buckingham Palace. A Special Treat and Midnight Delivery are special favourites that are still sought after especially during the fall and winter season. Gibsons puzzles really do have the most fantastic selection of seasonal Christmas puzzles.

It's very interesting to see how Steve works such as the colours he uses and what type of paints he uses. It looks as though Steve uses water based paints such as gouache and special colour markers which allow him to make such clean edges. Something any puzzle enthusiast will appreciate. If you notice on the right there's a book about Maxfield Parrish who was a famous American artist during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A name that might not be instantly familiar but whose work you would recognise as creating a certain unmistakable atmosphere. Maxfield Parrish was earning $100,000 about one hundred years ago when a house cost $2000. Norman Rockwell (who hasn't heard of him?) called him his hero.

Parrish is known to have used mechanical aids such as photography and other graphic techniques that helped him in his colouring and the stunning accuracy of his figures. His settings seem to hark back to an earlier era, almost in a Nicolas Poussin setting of Arcadia or, more recently, to the work of Peter Max who was a famous Beatles illustrator for the Beatles movie, Yellow Submarine. Peter Max’s work permeated the 1960’s and definitely enhanced the over the top and expressive quality of that decade.

A Work of Art is also available as a 500XL puzzle - G3542.

***All orders from Canada Puzzles are shipped in heavy duty cardboard boxes and are fully insured against loss or damage.***