Do any of you watercolorists use a Pochade box?

[virgil carter]

35mm, do you like painting vertically or near-vertically? That’s pretty much what pochade boxes require. Plus, painting larger than the lid of the pochade box requires some special gear (elastic cord, metal clips, etc) to hold the paper and backing board in place. If you paint outdoors, this arrangement can be affected by wind.

Just some thoughts for watercolor and pochade boxes. I won’t mention weight.

Sling painit!
Virgil

Sling paint,
Virgil Carter
http://www.virgilcarterfineart.com/

[Studio-1-F]

Hi 35mm. You will need a method to hold the lid open and rigid, if you are using it to support the paper panel. A good cheap and easy idea is illustrated here[/URL]. Scroll down to “Make a brace hardware support for the cover”.

BTW I hope that mahogany box doesn’t get too heavy!

Jan

[35mm]

Virgil – Studio, I’m just beginning water colors and this will be my carry when gone and my storage at home. As a wood worker with a full shop at my disposal I already know that I’ll be adding hinges/brackets and changing things around. I’ll add a removable tripod quick release support. The box is actually pretty light, although I’m sure once one adds water that can change. For the price of free it is something to work with. I’ll set it up for painting at a slight angle off the top side rails which seems the norm for watercolor. The top will carry brushes etc. Inside dimensions are 18″ wide and 16″ deep. I probably won’t work larger then 8×10 for awhile. 11 x 14 will be the largest outside home or on the road.

[virgil carter]

35mm, your setup is probably as good a way to start watercolors as any other. The trick to watercolor is just to try different approaches and see what works best for you. Try it for 6 months and see if you like what’s happening. If not, there are plenty of other options. Watercolor is one of those media where everyone paints differently in order to support their individual preferred approach. Good luck–let us know how things go.

Sling paint!
Virgil

Sling paint,
Virgil Carter
http://www.virgilcarterfineart.com/

[cgonzaga]

35mm, I too have a cutlery box in the process of convertion to a painting box. My idea is to make the painting surface the top of the lid with the hinges facing the painter. This will enable you to adjust the angle of the board with an outside adjustable stay. It won’t be too hard to figure out a spring mechanism on the underside of the lid to hold the board in place. I will be cutting a horizontal slit opening on both side just clearing the bottom panel for bilateral pull out shelf for all the painting accessories. This will please V as he likes all his painting stuff on the side With a sturdy tripod adaptor and a rock sack we can start slinging paint. So, do you think it will work?

[sabana]

I have one but I can’t see the point of using one for watercolours. They are great for small oil studies where the canvas is wet, but watercolours dry so quickly that they are pretty much pointless for this medium.

[virgil carter]

Chito, this sounds excellent. Have you got a sketch or picture of what you will be doing?

To my mind the two biggest drawbacks of pochade boxes for watercolor are the difficulty accomodating half and full-size sheets at various angles from horizontal to vertical, followed by having the open bottom of the box between me and the painting, forcing me to stand further from my painting than I sometimes like. Sounds like you have figured some ways to deal with both drawbacks.

We’ll all be anxious to see how this turns out.

Sling paint!
Virgil

Sling paint,
Virgil Carter
http://www.virgilcarterfineart.com/

[Studio-1-F]

Chito, this sounds excellent. Have you got a sketch or picture of what you will be doing?

Agreed!!! :thumbsup: Would love to see a few pix of this set-up.

Jan

[cgonzaga]

Once I have it finished I’ll take a few pics.
V, I really think pochades are meant for smaller size painting, half sheet max, at least thats my target size for this one. It would be quite impossible to have a full sheet on it.

[virgil carter]

Chito, the way I’ve seen smaller pocade boxes attempt to handle paintings larger than their box size is by:
1) Extensions in the form of rods, bars, etc., that project beyond the sides of the box;
2) Elastic cords and small metal brackets that clip onto each side of the backing board, using the elastic cord for tension around the back of the lid or top. These accessories can be purchased from several of the pochade manufacturers.

If you can figure out a sliding shelf to come out from the side of the bottom of the box to hold palette, water, etc., why couldn’t you do something similar on the top of the box to stabilize a larger sheet of watercolor and backing board? Does this make sense?

A 12″ X 16″ pochade box, like mine, would only need a 7″ sliding support on each side to make a 30″ wide support. Might be more difficult for a full-size sheet in the vertical position, however, since it requires 18″ more. The math is making my head hurt!

I really like the idea of using the back of the top, where the hinges are located, as the painting side since it lets watercolorists have a surface that ranges from horizontal to vertical, or anything in between, as long as the hinges can be locked in the desired position.

I wonder why no commercial pochade manfacturer hasn’t done this? Great ideas, Chito!

Sling paint!
Virgil

Sling paint,
Virgil Carter
http://www.virgilcarterfineart.com/

[CharM Moderator Watercolour Forum]

My table easel is not quite a pochade box, even though I can store most of my supplies in it. The painting supports behave similar to what you’re describing and are adjustable. It could probably be attached to a tripod…

Behind the Loons painting is my easel, sitting on the snack table…

Now, I know that I’m not providing examples where I’ve used this out of doors, but I have done… I don’t paint large on it while outside with it on the picnic table (our back yard, camping, etc.)… usually 1/4 sheets… and I have no problems…

Perhaps the design of this easel might help with your pochade box…

Char --

CharMing Art -- "Where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art." Leonardo DaVinci

[virgil carter]

Char, if you put your table-top easel on a tripod, I think it’s called a French Easel!

The difference between a pochade box and a French Easel perhaps is the difference between a oil painter of small outoor works and a watercolorist painting any size, indoors or outside!

Interestingly, the French Easel historically has worked for a variety of sizes of oil, pastel and watercolor paintings (outdoors and studio). The knock on French Easels is that they are heavy and bulky.

On the other hand, pochade boxes seem inherently designed for painting small oil (and perhaps pastel) paintings outdoors. Period! Pochade boxes are simply a way for oil (and pastel) painters to go outdoors and paint small works, whether finished paintings or studies for larger studio paintings. And pochade boxes, and related gear, are also heavy and bulky, particularly in larger sizes.

It’s just a lot simpler for watercolorists to use a tripod/easel and support than to go through all these machinations, IMO. A tripod/easel and support work equally well for watercolorists, whether in the studio or outdoors. And the accomodate paintings of all sizes. Finally, tripods/easels allow painting while standing or sitting. What more is there to ask?

But, the heart beats eternal for a new way to paint watercolors! So we continue the search for innovation. Watercolorists have to be the ultimate in chasing new gear!

Sling paint!
Virgil

Sling paint,
Virgil Carter
http://www.virgilcarterfineart.com/

[35mm]

35mm, I too have a cutlery box in the process of convertion to a painting box. My idea is to make the painting surface the top of the lid with the hinges facing the painter. This will enable you to adjust the angle of the board with an outside adjustable stay. It won’t be too hard to figure out a spring mechanism on the underside of the lid to hold the board in place. I will be cutting a horizontal slit opening on both side just clearing the bottom panel for bilateral pull out shelf for all the painting accessories. This will please V as he likes all his painting stuff on the side With a sturdy tripod adaptor and a rock sack we can start slinging paint. So, do you think it will work?

I like the idea of a pull out drawer on the side. I may have to incorporate one.
It sounds very promising. Sketch it out and let it sit in your mind for a couple of days and see if you make any changes. I’ve already thought of some things I want to change.

[cgonzaga]

V, with a full size board, access to the side shelves would be limited, unless it could swing to the front slightly. I would prefer to use 24 x 36 ” gator B. with glued on tripod adaptor and my front shelf for that. I have also been rethinking my swingout arm that attaches to the centre column with a pivoting shelf. I think that would be more promising for a full size set up.

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