Easels and painting boards questions...

[Elaine Hurst]

Morning all!  I have two questions, one, what kinds of easels do you all use?  Two, if you use boards to paint on, what kinds do you like?  I have two studio easels, a French easel, and a kind of home-made one that I have used for far travel.  I have been using gessoed watercolor paper for times when I need to keep things very lightweight.  But I think I would like to use boards instead.  Just would like to know what other people are using.  Thank you!

[Elaine Hurst]

Thanks for your input. I have done a little watercolor, but nothing more than sketches. I traveled to England with oils, but my friend bought the medium and OMS for me there, since the airlines don't allow those kinds of things on the airplane. Great to know what kinds of materials people use. Thanks.

[Tony Robinson]

Hi Elaine.

[Tony Robinson]

Hi Elaine,
Basic box (above)is just a wooden box you might buy your first set of paints in. I like to fiddle and add bits to it to suit myself: its a work in progress.
Back view shows the sliders (from an old aluminium frame) and bungee cords to clamp the top of panel or canvas. A metal plate and quick-release attaches it to a tripod. It would hold a 20" x 16"
Front view shows a panel inside the lid itself - something I'm getting more accustomed to using.
Usually I use 2 bars from a hanging system that clip across the front of the lid but not shown here. I found the recess handy to shade your board in sunny conditions.
The big thing is to decide on standard sizes. That makes a travelling kit easier to arrange. My box fits 9" x 12" and I take those and 9" x 6" which also fit into the panel carrier I made from correx board. Wash pale yellow or orangey pink acrylic on a few and I go out with more bullets than a bandoleer.
I have tried loose canvas pieces and correx stiffeners to masking-tape them to. Minimum space and weight but a bit fiddly. Last time I was leaving the paintings so I mounted the canvas onto 5mm foam core board. Light, flat and rigid.

[Michael McGuire]

Hi Elaine,

Previously I used a Soltek easel, but in common with most other people's experience, the legs packed in on mine too. About a year ago I purchased an EasyL box and tripod which I find very good for sizes up to about 14 " x 18". More recently I aso got a Beauport easel which I've only used a couple of times - great for windy locations and/or for larger canvases - I painted a 16" x 22" canvas beside the sea on a windy day with no problems, but it took me nearly a half hour to set it up and that was my second outing!

I used to make my own panels for sizes up to 11" x 14", just two coats of gesso on hardboard, but you need to apply a sealant to the back too to make them waterproof and to reduce warping. MDF (one eight inch) would be better, but it's hard to get here in anything smaller than a quarter inch which is too heavy. Recently, I've switched to stretched canvas for even the smallest sizes as I prefer the texture and feel of it - they're also lighter than panels and not much more expensive.

[Elaine Hurst]

Thanks for the pictures, they really are worth a thousand words. It is nice to be able to fiddle around and make something work for your own wants. That is a great idea with the bungee cords. The box that I fixed up, with my husband's great help, that I took to England work fair. It was really too wide, so if I made the mistake of leaning on it, down it went. I'm glad to hear what you think of the panel sitting back in the box. I wasn't sure if that would make it hard to work on and/or see well. Thanks!

 

[Elaine Hurst]

Painting is like so many things, you have to keep trying equipment to see what works best. I have heard that besides the price, that the Solteks have some glitches. I liked your different ideas for panels. I have used acid free, thinner foam core and painted it with Art Spectrum pumice ground. It comes in many colors, and really is meant for pastels, which I use it for too, but it works fine for oils also. I think it is an Australian company. You can either mix your own colors, or buy different ones from them. The foam core did warp a little if I didn't put a lot of books on it after they were dry to flatten them. Comes in a jar. Thanks for sharing what you use for painting.

[Tony Robinson]

Give me a shout on 2mm MDF Michael. I can get it if you want some.
I have seen a few interesting recipes on wet canvas and elsewhere to add a bit of texture to your grounds. Not sure where you can get the finer grades of pumice they mostly seem to use for this. I'd like to try it.
Greg Moore, the Irish pastel artist, swears by Art Spectrum and I've been looking into getting it. The other gizmo I find helpful is the plastic Viewcatcher. Its fairly indestructible and I'm always glad when I remember to use it.