I looooove puzzles. They were a staple of my childhood and I’ll do them ‘til I die. I was experimenting with some of my work on puzzles a couple years ago, mostly gifting them to friends and family, when I decided to flip one up-side-down after it was complete. There it was - a blank canvas waiting for me to start drawing. So I did!

This particular puzzle had grey backing, so I used a black micron pen and a white gel pen to play-up the contrast. I flipped through my sketchbook for ideas and saw a giant pacific octopus I drew 3 years ago on a plane (yes, mid-flight turbulence and all) and that was it! I added an entire underwater scene with bull kelp, sea grass and psychedelic sea flowers.

I hadn’t seen a double-puzzle before but instantly knew this was going to be a focus for my next few projects. I mean, the only thing better than one puzzle is two, right? As someone who grew up reading choose-your-own-adventure books I love choices. Give me a double-puzzle any day!

It’s not lost on me that opening a box with puzzle pieces that has images on both sides might stop some in their tracks and cause them to think “Wait. Whah?” So I mindfully kept the hand-drawn side monochromatic. That way it’s easy to distinguish between the two.