People always ask about the easel

EDIT: FEB 2017 – THREE YEARS OUT:  I will probably go back to using the easel one day. However, the older I get, the less stuff I want to carry all day.

In recent months I’ve refused to bring any tripod/easel at all. I still think you get better paintings if you use one. BUT – I’m also willing to sacrifice some quality in exchange for remaining light on my feet.

Here’s a recent (mid 2016) shot of working on location, doing a 30-45min painting, standing up.

I’m painting on a coroplast drawing board, with a small palette clipped to the board. Extra paper/boards are clipped behind. Normally they’re stacked a bit neater. I’m not sure what I was up to in this shot. I’m carrying paint water in 125ml nalgene jars in a ‘purse’ style bag (open jars, in the bottom of the bag, I reach into the open zip for water).

Perhaps I’m getting faster at painting? or more forgiving at what I want out of a sketch? But in any case, I’m not needing the easel as much as I used to.

Still – I leave this long historical post up for posterity. It was an important tool for many years.

 

EDIT: SEPT 2014 – ONE YEAR OUT: The article below is now out of date, but I’ll leave it up for posterity – and because I still like the setup described  – BUT – I no longer carry the full-size tripod and accessory trays into the field.

I’ve decided it’s simply too heavy to take on trips that involve walking to the location.

I still use it extensively in the studio, so I can paint in different locations (in front of a model or still life, or near the computer if I’m looking a reference images). But for field work, I’ve gone down in size to a lightweight aluminum folding tripod that looks like THIS in use.

Painting in progress are clipped to the tray like THIS with the palette similarly clipped on to the front like THIS. (That’s a bijiou box in the shot, but I also do it with a larger 12-well tin box).

My main reason for going big in the first place was stability in the wind. My current theory is: “oh well- some paintings r’gonna flip”. That’s the trade off for less weight in my bag.

So, back to my OLD OUT OF DATE info:

Original Post: The easel can be a bigger star than the paintings sometimes.

Every time one of my Frankenstein painting rigs appear in a photo, I get questions about it. Which is natural.  Everyone loves gadgets, if they’re going to make for better paintings.

I’ve tried a variety of gear aimed at artists – the best of which (IMO) is the Eric Michaels En Plein Air Traveler. Basically not an easel at all – but rather a set of trays that attach to a light-weight camera tripod.

(NOTE: I go my E.M. Plein Air Traveller in the USA. I’ve recently been told that E.Michaels and Co. charge exorbitant shipping to Canada – almost doubling the price of the item – possibly Europeans might be in the same boat. So  perhaps people might be even more interested in my kit-bashed solution).

This is the most practical off-the-shelf solution I’ve seen, but it has one drawback. It’s build to be light, portable, and easy to set up. Which is great. (I used one for years). But it means it’s *too* light for any kind of serious wind.

There have been many windy outings where I had to keep one hand on the tabletop at all times to stop it lifting off. On a few occasions, walking away at the wrong time resulted in a wind gust flipping the whole thing on it’s head. Once you push the situation up to 16×20″ panels you’ve essentially made a land-surfer.

So, that’s where higher quality camera gear comes in. Full size tripods have the weight to counterbalance big paintings, yet still fold up smaller than purpose-built artists gear. (I’m talking to you Jullian Easel). Personally, I’d much rather carry a tripod over my shoulder and the paints in a backpack, than try to haul around one of those wooden boxes.

The best tripod I’ve found so far is the cleverly named Manfrotto 055XPR08. To which I attach my old E.M.Plein Air Pro tray, using a bare bones tripod head. (Not the nice camera head it came with, but a very basic one I had lying around. No reason. Just using the good one somewhere else).

The 055XP has the key feature: You can fold the camera head to a horizontal position.

Perfect for my needs – panel on one side, and the remainder of the T-Bar to clamp on whatever else I want. Usually just a small accessory tray for my palette. I have a battery driven LED light panel for night painting, and eventually I’m planning to add in a Shade Buddy umbrella. I could even clamp on a Go-Pro or similar mini-camera and capture progress photos of the art, or record the scene in around me.

You could make your own tabletop out of wood or plastic by attaching the standard camera threading that’s on the base of every DSLR. I haven’t needed to researched where to get this tiny piece of hardware yet, but any camera store could order it. (EDIT: I’ve been told the threaded bit of hardware is called a Tee Nut or T-Nut, and is available in hardware stores, or online). You could also use a ‘shoe’ type quick release attachment which can be purchased from tripod manufacturers as a replacement part.  You’d just have to mount it to the back of your tray.

There are also many types of laptop tray on the market these days, aimed at digital photographers who want to shoot with a computer next to the camera. They are however, often quite expensive. I bought one, but it’s cast metal and too heavy to haul around all day. Another thing for the box of expensive easel hardware I don’t use anymore. There are some nice aircraft aluminum models out there – so maybe someday :) Check out a site called Tether Tools if you’re feeling spendy.

The painting itself, brushes and folding palette are clipped on with bulldog clips. (see up top). I bring a variety of sizes if clip to hold all the various brushes. (Brushes go handle down into the wire ‘arms’ of the clip, not under the clampy part).

This all might seem like a bit of the overkill – but I will say: try painting on your lap, when you have to juggle palette, brushes, water etc etc – and you’ll discover immediately that having all your tools to hand – without fumbling for things – is actually a basic requirement for making a good painting. You can’t work a bead of water if you have to dig around in your bag for brushes while it’s dripping down the page.

If you try out something similar, or know of some better accessories, send me some of your photos from the field. Maybe we can get Manfrotto to make purpose-built art gear. They can put them out in pretty colors instead of photographer black.

~m