Home Forums Explore Media Watercolor The Learning Zone Flat watercolor easel with an "on the side" palette?

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  • #991355
    SteveBerry
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        I’ve been doing some research on this and haven’t come up with much that isn’t hand made/ personally altered. I like to paint with my board flat-ish, which in and of itself is not a problem, but most easels I am finding advice for seem to be designed for acrylic painters or for watercolorists who prefer to work vertically. Why? Because the palette is right in front, and this makes things really unergonomic.

        What I’d like is some sort of easel/tripod that I can mount my board to, so I can paint flat or almost flat and have my palette to the side, the way I do at home. This way I won’t have to arch way over the top of the easel to reach my board. I’ve been to the Plein Air forum and researched this, but a) it doesn’t get as much traffic as here, and b) it seems to mostly be acrylic painters.

        Any ideas on this? Is it something I have to sort of build/ compile from scratch? Or is it something that’s pretty easy to find if I know where to look?

        #1195230
        SteveBerry
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            I now wonder if this thread should have gone into the Learning Zone. Well, I figure a mod will decide and either move it or leave it.

            #1195200

            OK Steve I moved it.

            Are you talking about a studio easel or a plein air easel? There are lots of lightweight easels that fit the bill. Mine is a Trent I think.

            I sit and have my palette on the floor, but you can get or make a clip on shelp that fits on the tripod.

            Another option is to use a camera tripod with a board fitted with an adaptor, the board being wide enough to hold your paper and palette.

            Doug


            We must leave our mark on this world

            #1195214
            friesin
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                #1195217
                virgil carter
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                    It sounds like you may prefer to use a studio-style palette that lies on a table or shelf, rather than an hand-held palette. Is this correct?

                    If so, here’s a set-up that would easily work, simply by turning the tripod legs so that the shelf is in the desired location, while turning the tripod head for painting as desired: http://www.artisteasel.com/index.html

                    Or this: http://www.enpleinairpro.com/products.html

                    Or this: http://www.sun-eden.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&product_ID=342&ParentCat=3

                    There are other similar sources. Hope this helps.

                    Sling tripods,
                    Virgil

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

                    #1195207
                    Studio-1-F
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                        There are other similar sources. Hope this helps.

                        Sling tripods,
                        Virgil

                        Easel Butler also offers a similar on-the-tripod-legs “shelf” system —- http://www.easelbutler.com/index.html

                        Jan

                        #1195221
                        WthrLady
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                            My set up puts paint on the side. Tbe butler relies on th position of the tripod legs, which puts the shelf still between you and the board and below it, or below it and off to tbe side at an odd angle. On my cell phone, so I can’t post a link, but my set up is on my blog in the link embedded below.

                            #1195222
                            WthrLady
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                                Tossing in that I’ve had and tried the flat laying lobo, it was just tooooo large. Tried the butler. Tried a tipping easel like Doug’s. ….. nothing was like I was used to, which made plaein air more of a chore than I wanted, which was easy fast muscle memory access to my paints without having to go through a ballet recital of movements to get to them or the work surface!

                                #1195229
                                DaveCrow
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                                    Any of the tripod mounted painting boar easels should let you lay the work surface flat. I have an en plein air pro and love the adjustability.

                                    As for the palette, the palette shelf rests against two of the tripod legs, so it can be positioned to the side. If I were to use it that way I think I would make a custom top to hold my palette at a more comfortable angle.

                                    "Let the paint be paint" --John Marin

                                    #1195201

                                    This is my preferred way of working plein air with the pad on my knee:

                                    Doug


                                    We must leave our mark on this world

                                    #1195223
                                    WthrLady
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                                        Any of the tripod mounted painting boar easels should let you lay the work surface flat. I have an en plein air pro and love the adjustability.

                                        As for the palette, the palette shelf rests against two of the tripod legs, so it can be positioned to the side. If I were to use it that way I think I would make a custom top to hold my palette at a more comfortable angle.

                                        Forgot that I owned that one at one time too. It’s such a personall thing, equipment, but how I loathe spending the $ to find just the right thing.

                                        #1195208
                                        Studio-1-F
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                                            My set up puts paint on the side. Tbe butler relies on th position of the tripod legs, which puts the shelf still between you and the board and below it, or below it and off to tbe side at an odd angle. On my cell phone, so I can’t post a link, but my set up is on my blog in the link embedded below.

                                            Aha! What Steve is looking for is a work surface that can be adjusted flat with enough surface area for both the paper and the palette! [lightbulb goes off!];)

                                            A piece of particle board or thin plywood fitted with a tripod plate (http://www.judsonsart.com/pleinair/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=1181&idcategory=101) would do the trick, provided the board isn’t so big there’s a wobble or a warp to it. The palette could be further secured to the board with spring clips (or velcro or magnets, depending).

                                            BTW, here’s a useful older thread on this topic : https://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=945035

                                            Jan

                                            #1195231
                                            SteveBerry
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                                                Thank you everyone for such helpful tips. I was having a hard time finding stuff, but this atleast opens a few doors.

                                                It’s true that I could really just go minimalist (pad in lap, etc), but I’ve got the stuff for that and just haven’t seemed to be using it as much as I would have thought. As such, I thought “Hey, maybe I shouldn’t try and reinvent the wheel, and should just try and figure out a way to paint the way I already love to” which is very wet, with the board flat, and with my palette to my side (rather than in the hand).

                                                I like the idea of some of these camera tri-pods with some sort of mounting mechanism for the board/foam core/ etc., where I could fit most of the stuff in a big bag of some sort, rather than the sort of “heavy duty” French Easel style thing. That whole wooden construction just always seemed too much??? Simpler seems better.

                                                I’ve been looking at a number of creations similar to the Butler, where the palette is placed somehow on the tripod. I would like it to be to the side instead of in the front, but with the tripod, if I mount the device to the side, it’s sort of “to the side and also to the back” of the tripod, because of the triangular shape. It seems like I would sort of need to reach over the painting to get to it. I’ve seen some setups that sort of use a fold out plastic “cabinet” for the palette (where there are “doors” that face up and thus fold out to the sides, creating a wider flat plane). I thought this might extend the “arm” of the palette far enough that I could access one side of it even if I placed it on the side of the tripod.

                                                Has anyone else ran into this issue? Is my description making any sense? Perhaps I should just get over it and try holding my travel palette in my hand more! LOL! Plein air, of course, can’t be the same as normal studio painting. But where will my beer go if I have to hold my palette? :D

                                                #1195218
                                                virgil carter
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                                                    “…But where will my beer go if I have to hold my palette?…”

                                                    Yes, exactly!

                                                    For the sake of art, I’ll volunteer to hold all the beer. Honest!

                                                    Sling suds,
                                                    Virgil

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

                                                    #1195224
                                                    WthrLady
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                                                        I use a small bag to carry my supplies.

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