What easel do you use

[konst]

Hi there,

I need to buy an easel for Plein Air painting, new to that area.
I thought the best way to chose is to ask what others are using and why.

Something about those wooden rickety legs on the french easels bother me. Is it better to get one that attaches to a camera tripod? I will be painting in watercolors.

Thank you for your help.

[ErnstG]

@=konst I need to buy an easel for Plein Air painting, new to that area.
I thought the best way to chose is to ask what others are using and why.
I will be painting in watercolors.

Sie bekommen so viele Antworten wie es Maler gibt. Es gibt keine Lösung,
die allgemein verbindlich ist. Für die Open-Air-Malerei muss die Staffelei
stabil und stark sein, wenn Sie diese lange genießen wollen.
Meine robuste hölzerne Staffelei verwende ich seit über 15 Jahren.
In Zukunft werde ich mir eine Alternative aus einem stabilen Kamera-Stativ
bauen. Ich suche noch nach einem Ingenieur.

You'll get as many answers as there are painters. There is no solution which
is universally binding. For the open-air painting, the easel to be stable and
strong, if you want to enjoy it long.
My sturdy wooden easel I use for over 15 years.
In the future I will build an alternative of a sturdy camera tripod. I seek
only to an engineer.

Ernst

[dgford]

For a number of years I have used the Winsor and Newton "Bristol" Sketching easel--- but make ceratin it is the Sketching easel. It easily enables you to tilt your work from horizontal to almost vertical --- a valuable asset for watercolour painting --- is light in weight but very stable, takes smaller to larger sheets, has easily adjustable legs with a width stablising bar and comes in its own carry bag.
Geoff

[Mike1947]

I used a full French Easel for several year and then I finally bit the bullet and bought a Soltek. I highly recommend the Soltek, but the price is rather high. If you are just starting out and trying to decide whether Plein Air is for you or not, a decent half French Easel is popular option.

Mike

[Horsa]

I use an En Plein Air Pro and love it. The new version includes a palette built into the shelf. I am debating he upgrade.

It is based on a camera tripod. Easily adjustable to different angles.

Two caveats. The tripod only stands about waist high, so not always the best if you like to paint standing. The shoulder bag it comes packed in suffers from weak D-Rings where the straps attack, and it gets very heavy to carry this way. I upgraded to a backpack for easel, water bottle, brushes, paper etc and am glad I did.

[bnguffey]

A Gloucester style easel called the Take It Easel. I can paint from 5" x 7" up to 30" x 40". Love it. Here's a link to a short video I did about setting it up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyrPivO7w_o&feature=plcp

[steveoreno]

ErnstG is correct. You will have to discover which easel is comfortable for you and there are easels for each occasion. Are you backpacking? Are you painting in a park and only a few paces from your car? Are you strictly in the studio? I follow bnguffey's methodology and have converted a painters box (mine tabletop) and use it with a sturdy tripod mount for plein air.

[Studio-1-F]

Originally Posted by konst

. . . . .I thought the best way to chose is to ask what others are using and why.

I use a board that has a threaded tripod mounting plate bolted on. I attach that to an ancient and dearly beloved Gitzo ball-head tripod head, which is in turn on top of a Manfrotto 3021BPro tripod. The pastel box is bungeed to my new Easel Butler "shelf". (I am delighted at how well the Easel Butler works.) The whole ensemble requires (IMO) a counterweight on the back tripod leg -- I hang a bottle of water there -- but otherwise works like a charm.

I am thinking of upgrading to a lighter carbon fiber Manfrotto tripod that also folds down into a smaller size than ye ole 3021BPro.

As to "Why?" -- Well, let's see. I tried everything else out there, found them all wanting in one aspect or another. The few "French easels" I tried, all three-legged, some wooden and one metal, were especially and remarkably unsuitable. I say 'remarkably' because it's such a traditional and time-tested contraption. Anyway, I have settled (for now!) on the above configuration. Works for me.

Jan

[maryinasia]

I don't use an easel. Outside, I paint small and flat, so as long as there is a hard surface (watercolor pad, cardboard, etc.), no problem.

[ingegerd]

I paint in watercolurs and I use my bicycle http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/show...90&postcount=4 or sit on the ground.

[maryinasia]

love your bike easel!

[Trikist]

For me it is an on-going evolution. I used to carry my watercolor and sketching supplies on my recumbent trike. Sitting on the trike I would hold the support in my hand and lay my supplies on the ground.




Then I got a simple aluminum easel and a camping stool. It held my support, I held the palette, and the remaining supplies sat on the ground or wherever.

I recently bought a 6X8 Guerrilla Thumb Box with light tripod from Guerrilla. It holds my support (up to 9X12 so far), my supplies and
my easel. I velcro the water bottle to one leg and put my acrylic paint tubes in the stone bag. Now I place my backpack on the ground but may just wear it when the weather gets bad.



It is sort of fun making things work.

Regards, Gary