jigsaw project

Some time ago, I had the notion to buy a jigsaw puzzle, draw each individual piece, then scan the original artwork in and assemble the puzzle digitally.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to a local charity shop and bought a 500 piece jigsaw for 99p. The picture on the box is a typical jigsaw photograph of some perfect corner of England, in this case a cottage somewhere in North Yorkshire. (I’ll scan it in a later date so you can see for yourself.)

Anyway, I’ve made a start on the project and have been taking pieces out of the box at random and then drawing each one individually, numbering each piece as I go. I fill a sketchbook page – I can get a total of 35 pieces on each page – and then I watercolour all the pieces on that page in one sitting, then scan them into the computer. At the time of writing I’ve drawn 275 pieces and have coloured the first 170.

I should of course, draw all the pieces before I start assembling the puzzle, but looking over the drawings I’ve made so far, it’s clear that certain pieces go together and I couldn’t resist making a start on the digitised version. So here is the first composite piece depicting the tiled roof of the cottage. It’s turning out pretty much as I expected and I love all the inconsistencies of size, colour and shape in the assembled image.

I think it will look great when it’s finished but it requires a great deal of time and patience and feeling as I do at the moment, a nervous breakdown can’t be far away...

TWSBI Diamond 580 with Platinum Carbon ink and watercolours, in A4 Stillman and Birn Alpha Series sketchbook.