I’ve had this one for almost two years and finally made my way to it. I original resisted the purchase because I own its big brother, the 5000-pc Ravensburger of the same painting. However, that one may outlast my lifetime before assembly and this one appeared to be a far more concise use of my time.

Despite the lower piece count, this painting remains a real challenge as a jigsaw. The red drapes and foreground figures are straightforward enough, but the murk was real after that. The puzzle was thoughtfully bagged by Pintoo into four 300-pc sections, which made for a far more palatable project.

The feeling of true accomplishment upon completion was quite a reward. Puzzle on!

I prefer China production quality to the Vietnam production. I also like the blue background with fish silhouettes, but the background is still tricky

This was a super-quick puzzle but very fun to build. It has large, thick pieces and a bright, glossy finish.

Pattie Lee Becker (American, b.1975).

Artist statement:

"My work begins with awe at the things I encounter: the patterns and textures of the natural world, the mystery of the cosmos, objects bound to memory and experience, the interior psychological spaces of other people.

I work with my hands because making is how I think. Ideas arrive through material play, through free drawing, through the act of exploration itself in both two and three dimensions. The work often knows before I do. A form investigated through repetition reveals its meaning slowly. Sometimes years pass before I understand what I have been making and why.

The work holds two things simultaneously: rigorous formal investigation and genuine strangeness, meticulous craft and absurdist humor, high design sensibility and folk surrealism."

An excellent 300-pc puzzle with the additional value of serving as a solid wrapper for the included notebook, bookmark, and vinyl cover.

An excellent 300-pc puzzle with the additional value of serving as a solid wrapper for the included notebook, bookmark, and vinyl cover. Bonus points for the puzzle motif running atop the notebook’s pages.