Painting on 30″x 20″ canvas board with no easel

[AKrillLick]

So far my biggest painting has been 16″ x 12″. I have limited space, no easel and work on a desk with an A3 drawing board. So far, this has been great.

I am starting my first larger painting, 20″x 30″ canvas board. Although not that sturdy I put the board on the drawing board and it was fine for gessoing and putting a mid-tone ground on.

An easel is not an option right now and I am working in a box room. I just wondered if there are any tips for making the painting experience easier. I’m wondering if there is anything I can use to stick the canvas to the drawing board without damaging the drawing board or the canvas board. Or, I could rest the canvas on my table and somehow stick it to the wall. It is basically a small spare room and if I damage the wallpaper this is not an issue.

I know a proper easel would be much better but this is just a hobby and that is not an option right now. I am interested to hear any tips!

Thanks.

[null and void]

Desktop easels are fairly inexpensive and don’t take up much room when not in use. You can rest a sandbag on the base in back or bungee cord sandbags to the back leg or all three to make it more stable on the desk or the ground. Sandbags can be made from cut sections of denim pant legs from the thrift store for a few dollars, filled with dirt or sand and zip tied shut on the ends.

Instructable – Making Sandbags from Pants

Table Top Easels at Jerry’s

Table Top Easels on Amazon

Some will also work on the floor or outdoors for more versatility. This one is only $21 shipped.

$21 Table Top Tripod Easel

 

 

 

 

[bongo]

If I’m reading your post correctly – the drawing board worked okay for gessoing, but I assume you’re worried about the panel moving around when you try to paint on it, or that the parts of the panel that are unsupported by the drawing board might not be sturdy enough.

The panel is sturdy enough not to be worried about parts that are unsupported.  You can use painter’s tape (low tack masking tape) to tape an edge of the panel to the drawing board.  That will be enough to keep the panel from sliding while painting.  The tape will not harm the panel or the drawing board.

When finished take off the tape and paint the small area that was covered by the tape to match your painting.

Without seeing the drawing board/panel it’s hard to say what could be the best approach.

Also if you don’t mind putting a few screws in the dry-wall, there is an easy way to mount the panel on the wall for painting.  If that is something you’d consider, I’ll post how to do it..

http://s3.amazonaws.com/wetcanvas-hdc/Community/images/18-Sep-2019/1999899-sigsmall.jpg
STUDIOBONGO

[AKrillLick]

Thank you, yes, you understood correctly! The painter’s tape is a great idea.

I have ended up getting a desktop easel similar to the one post only it doesn’t really have a height restriction.

Thanks again for your advice, I will use the painter’s tape until the new easel arrives.

No need for the screws now, thanks!

[Mullanphy]

If there is wall space for it, maybe consider 3M Command strips?  https://www.command.com/3M/en_US/command/products/

They are a hook/loop fastener with an adhesive strip on the back of each piece so the painting can be put up and taken down without putting holes in the wall or damaging it.   The adhesive cleanly pulls away from wall paper, painted walls, and other surfaces.

Save lives, mask up. 😷

[AKrillLick]

Thanks, I ended up investing in a better quality desktop easel. The biggest I could find was one that takes up to 75cm canvas. However, it is easy to put a bigger one on than that. It just means it’s not secured as much but that doesn’t bother me.

[bongo]

something I’d forgotten about and am now using is poster putty (blu-tac)  holds really well.  This would work to keep oversized panels on your table easel from sliding around.

I paint against a wall.  I have two, six-foot-long adjustable shelf brackets mounted about four feet apart.  Instead of a shelf I put a 1″x2″strip across the brackets.  I place my panel flush against the wall and resting on the 1″x 2″.  That supports the weight, and to keep the panel from falling forward I use the putty on the back-top corners of the panel.  Besides blu-tac there are multiple brands on the market- the one I use I actually got from the dollar store.

 

http://s3.amazonaws.com/wetcanvas-hdc/Community/images/18-Sep-2019/1999899-sigsmall.jpg
STUDIOBONGO

[AKrillLick]

That’s very creative, thanks for the suggestions!

[Author]

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