Orchard Puzzle

Orchard Puzzle is a paint by numbers kit for adults, taken from James Hautman's painting of songbirds in an apple tree in blossom.

An apple tree in full flower is filled with birds, and the puzzle is finding them all. A cardinal and his mate hold the top branches, a blue jay sits at the center, and around them are a pileated woodpecker, a nuthatch running down the trunk, chickadees, an indigo bunting, a scarlet tanager, a goldfinch, a Baltimore oriole, a bluebird and a hummingbird working the blossom. Pink buds and open white flowers cover every branch, and the background falls away into soft gray-green.

Every bird is painted correctly enough to identify, which is what Hautman is known for. Ledgebay licenses the original artwork rather than copying a stock image, so what you finish is a real painting, not a generic design.

What's in the box

• Pre-printed cotton canvas, rolled in a tube rather than folded, so it arrives without creases to iron out
• Full set of acrylic paints, vacuum-sealed so they arrive moist
• Four brushes in different sizes, wooden handles
• Printed instructions and a full-color reference photo
• An 11" x 17" printout of the design, useful if you'd rather not lean over the canvas
• Framed sizes also include a wooden tabletop easel

Choosing a size

The framed 12x16 and framed 16x20 arrive pre-stretched on a wooden frame, ready to hang the moment you put the brush down. No mounting, no separate frame to buy. The unframed 16x20 gives you the same canvas and the same paints for less. It is trimmed close to the printed edge, so it suits taping or mounting to a board rather than stretching over your own frame.

Will I be able to see the numbers?

Take the 16x20. This is the most detailed design we sell and the extra inches matter more here than on anything else in the range. The 11" x 17" printout means you can check a section without leaning over the canvas, and a magnifier is worth having for the smaller birds.

Who it suits

Our best-selling design, and the hardest. One reviewer on his seventh paint by numbers calls it the most challenging and most time-consuming he has done. There is no large restful area anywhere on the canvas. Choose it if you know birds, you have painted before, and you want something that will take you months and be worth framing properly at the end. It is not a first kit.

Common questions

Do I need any painting experience?
None strictly, but this is the one design where a kit or two behind you genuinely helps. Every section is printed with a number that matches a numbered pot, so there is no drawing and no color mixing.

How long does Orchard Puzzle take?
Well beyond the usual. Reviewers describe it in months rather than hours. Take one bird at a time and treat each as a finished piece of work.

What is the best order to paint it in?
Background first, then the trunk and branches, then the blossom, then the birds one at a time. Doing the birds last means every edge around them is already dry, which is what keeps their outlines clean.

What if a color runs low or dries out?
There is a matching replacement paint set for this design, so a dried pot never ends the project. On a canvas this size it is worth ordering the spare set at the same time.