Art & Fable Cardboard Choices For Christmas 2021
Having assembled last year's Christmas present, Art & Fable's 1000pc Daphnis by Stephanie Pui Mun Law, with its velvet-feel cardboard pieces, I ordered some more of these in May 2021. They have since launched a selection of 750pc jigsaws so I wanted to update my selections by Art & Fable.
artandfablepuzzlecompany.co.uk/
Top Row Left: 1000pc Paramount Reflected by Betsy Silverman This caught my attention in May, but didn't make the final cut - it should fit nicely into the upcoming BCD theme 'Urban Life'. In her "fragmented realism" Betsy Silverman trains her eye upon discarded magazines, selects, cuts, and glues the recycled paper remnants to canvas, transforming the old images and texts into multidimensional portraits, still lives, and cityscapes. Several images of Betsy's are available from Art & Fable.
Top Centre: 500pc Wanderer's Night Sky by Marek Brzozowski from the second page of 500pc puzzles, which I may have missed last time. This can't be unrelated to the May selection 500pc Birth if a Dream by Maria Brzozowska, which if it is the same artist must be pretty embarrassing for Art & Fable as it is printed on the puzzle as well as the box. The latest biography reads, "Marek Brzozowski, originally from Poland, is one of Turkey's preeminent artists and educators. His style is instantly recognisable -celebrating the secret magic of mundane daily occurrences, oft-overlooked or under-appreciated characters, and time's metronomic cadence in a world re-scored to hypnotize, enchant, and inspire boundless imagination. Simultaneously surreal and grounded, his work has earned numerous awards in international competitions for illustration, cartoon art, and corporate branding. Brzozowski currently resides in Ankara, Turkey where he teaches at Bilkent University. "
Top Right: 1000pc Mantis Mundy by Robert Steven Connett. Having chosen Microcosmic Gardens in May which should look fabulous in Art & Fable's matte suede texture I found the larger image equally enticing. Robert Steven Connett is a self-taught artist currently based in Los Angeles, California. Since the beginning of his career in 2003, Connett has exhibited in shows across the globe and has earned a serious international following. His paintings open windows into a rarely seen world, teeming with vibrant and complex lifeforms. Taking inspiration from the biological phenomena of the natural world, Connett depicts imaginative portraits of flora and fauna, particularly of oceanic origins, with microscopic detail. Connett’s work brings a bizarre underworld into existence, challenging our perceptions of the world around us and our place within it. Flame Tree also do an image by RS Connett - rather more sci-fi nightmarish - but it seemed to have vanished from the site when I looked for it today.
Lower Left: 750pc Shipside Celebration by Contemporary Russian artist Anton Lomaev, 41x57cm. My first 750pc choice is a from book art and illustration, with beautiful colours and masses of detail. His work graces editions of both contemporary and classic works such as Moby Dick, Sherlock Holmes, and The Little Mermaid published across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Lomaev is the recipient of many of the highest awards in his field, earning the BIB Golden Apple prize in 2019, an honorary diploma from the International Board on Books for Young People 2018, and the 2015 Prix l’Esprit de l’Engagement from the European Science Fiction Society.
Lower Left Centre: 750pc Transcendent Migration by Julie Bell. Julie Bell is a world renowned wildlife painter and award winning fantasy artist, based in Pennsylvania. She shares a studio with her husband and occasional collaborator, Boris Vallejo, and the couple are well known from sci-fi & fantasy book covers. An essential aspect of Bell’s work is her innate curiosity and deep respect for the world of emotions. Bell has become one of the foremost wildlife and western painters, winning multiple awards and showing in exhibits across the U.S. and internationally. Her art depicts the magical bond between humans, animals, and nature through the use of imaginative scenes and bold colors.
Lower Centre-Right:1000pc I Thought the Streets Were Paved With Gold by Pacita Abad. A work that speaks of the immigrant experience in America and the title reminds me of a song from my parents, The Mountains of Mourne, by Percy French dating to 1896 (and already being paraphrased in World War I).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mountains_of_Mourne
Abad took the title from a quotation left by an Italian immigrant at Ellis Island, New York. ""I came to America because I heard the streets were paved with gold. When I got here, I found out three things: first, the streets weren't paved with gold; second, they weren't` paved at all; and third, I was expected to pave them."
Born in the Philippines in 1946, Abad emigrated to the United States to study at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C where she developed her singular technique of trapunto painting- a hybridisation of quilting and collage that rendered her canvases into three-dimensional landscapes that both support and interact with her uniquely abstract application of paint, bearing whole new worlds as naturally as life itself. Her subjects were primarily the unseen actors in the ecosystem of American economics that, despite barriers of language, education, and social capital, comprised the very fabric of a nation`s way of life.
Lower Right: 750pc Daughters of the Sea by Anton Lomaev. See above. This reminds me a little of James C Christensen, who also produced several works featuring mermaids, but I was struck by the humane naturalistic portrait in the centre of the older lady.
Art & Fable also have other selections of more conventional paintings which also tempt me:
500pc Ankara and Beauty by Clement Mmaduako Nwafor (see Piecefull's photo below)
500pc The Bohemian by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, with Notre Dame in the distance.
Art & Fable Cardboard Choices For Christmas 2021
Having assembled last year's Christmas present, Art & Fable's 1000pc Daphnis by Stephanie Pui Mun Law, with its velvet-feel cardboard pieces, I ordered some more of these in May 2021. They have since launched a selection of 750pc jigsaws so I wanted to update my selections by Art & Fable.
artandfablepuzzlecompany.co.uk/
Top Row Left: 1000pc Paramount Reflected by Betsy Silverman This caught my attention in May, but didn't make the final cut - it should fit nicely into the upcoming BCD theme 'Urban Life'. In her "fragmented realism" Betsy Silverman trains her eye upon discarded magazines, selects, cuts, and glues the recycled paper remnants to canvas, transforming the old images and texts into multidimensional portraits, still lives, and cityscapes. Several images of Betsy's are available from Art & Fable.
Top Centre: 500pc Wanderer's Night Sky by Marek Brzozowski from the second page of 500pc puzzles, which I may have missed last time. This can't be unrelated to the May selection 500pc Birth if a Dream by Maria Brzozowska, which if it is the same artist must be pretty embarrassing for Art & Fable as it is printed on the puzzle as well as the box. The latest biography reads, "Marek Brzozowski, originally from Poland, is one of Turkey's preeminent artists and educators. His style is instantly recognisable -celebrating the secret magic of mundane daily occurrences, oft-overlooked or under-appreciated characters, and time's metronomic cadence in a world re-scored to hypnotize, enchant, and inspire boundless imagination. Simultaneously surreal and grounded, his work has earned numerous awards in international competitions for illustration, cartoon art, and corporate branding. Brzozowski currently resides in Ankara, Turkey where he teaches at Bilkent University. "
Top Right: 1000pc Mantis Mundy by Robert Steven Connett. Having chosen Microcosmic Gardens in May which should look fabulous in Art & Fable's matte suede texture I found the larger image equally enticing. Robert Steven Connett is a self-taught artist currently based in Los Angeles, California. Since the beginning of his career in 2003, Connett has exhibited in shows across the globe and has earned a serious international following. His paintings open windows into a rarely seen world, teeming with vibrant and complex lifeforms. Taking inspiration from the biological phenomena of the natural world, Connett depicts imaginative portraits of flora and fauna, particularly of oceanic origins, with microscopic detail. Connett’s work brings a bizarre underworld into existence, challenging our perceptions of the world around us and our place within it. Flame Tree also do an image by RS Connett - rather more sci-fi nightmarish - but it seemed to have vanished from the site when I looked for it today.
Lower Left: 750pc Shipside Celebration by Contemporary Russian artist Anton Lomaev, 41x57cm. My first 750pc choice is a from book art and illustration, with beautiful colours and masses of detail. His work graces editions of both contemporary and classic works such as Moby Dick, Sherlock Holmes, and The Little Mermaid published across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Lomaev is the recipient of many of the highest awards in his field, earning the BIB Golden Apple prize in 2019, an honorary diploma from the International Board on Books for Young People 2018, and the 2015 Prix l’Esprit de l’Engagement from the European Science Fiction Society.
Lower Left Centre: 750pc Transcendent Migration by Julie Bell. Julie Bell is a world renowned wildlife painter and award winning fantasy artist, based in Pennsylvania. She shares a studio with her husband and occasional collaborator, Boris Vallejo, and the couple are well known from sci-fi & fantasy book covers. An essential aspect of Bell’s work is her innate curiosity and deep respect for the world of emotions. Bell has become one of the foremost wildlife and western painters, winning multiple awards and showing in exhibits across the U.S. and internationally. Her art depicts the magical bond between humans, animals, and nature through the use of imaginative scenes and bold colors.
Lower Centre-Right:1000pc I Thought the Streets Were Paved With Gold by Pacita Abad. A work that speaks of the immigrant experience in America and the title reminds me of a song from my parents, The Mountains of Mourne, by Percy French dating to 1896 (and already being paraphrased in World War I).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mountains_of_Mourne
Abad took the title from a quotation left by an Italian immigrant at Ellis Island, New York. ""I came to America because I heard the streets were paved with gold. When I got here, I found out three things: first, the streets weren't paved with gold; second, they weren't` paved at all; and third, I was expected to pave them."
Born in the Philippines in 1946, Abad emigrated to the United States to study at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C where she developed her singular technique of trapunto painting- a hybridisation of quilting and collage that rendered her canvases into three-dimensional landscapes that both support and interact with her uniquely abstract application of paint, bearing whole new worlds as naturally as life itself. Her subjects were primarily the unseen actors in the ecosystem of American economics that, despite barriers of language, education, and social capital, comprised the very fabric of a nation`s way of life.
Lower Right: 750pc Daughters of the Sea by Anton Lomaev. See above. This reminds me a little of James C Christensen, who also produced several works featuring mermaids, but I was struck by the humane naturalistic portrait in the centre of the older lady.
Art & Fable also have other selections of more conventional paintings which also tempt me:
500pc Ankara and Beauty by Clement Mmaduako Nwafor (see Piecefull's photo below)
500pc The Bohemian by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, with Notre Dame in the distance.