“Creativity is always a leap of faith. You're faced with a blank page, blank easel or an empty stage.”

~ Julia Cameron

Sitting in the stands painting figures with my cigar box pochade in my lap

When just one won't do

There’s evidence that even the ancient Egyptians used easels. In the 1st century, Pliny the Elder (writer of the first encyclopedia) referenced a “large panel ready for painting” placed upon an easel. During the middle ages, easels became more common as paintings were copied from temple walls onto smaller canvases for more convenient enjoyment. As art achieved new heights during the Renaissance, the easel became a symbol of the artistic craft. Towards the end of the 19th century, as the Impressionism movement was taking hold, plein air painting also grew in popularity. With that came the need for portable easels. Enter the pochade, a small box to contain supplies, the palette and a means to hold the canvas in place. Although they have undergone stylistic changes through the years, the easel’s structure has changed little to this day.

With my recent purchase of a studio easel, I feel like I have finally come of age as an artist. I now rely on one of three different easels depending on my goal.

My studio easel is capable of holding paintings up to 7 ft tall. It also tilts forward to eliminate glare, and has a handy tool shelf that provides lots of room for setting down brushes without knocking them to the floor (yep, that's me!). It’s a solid easel, can handle the heavier cradled panels, and holds up against lots of brushing and scraping without any wobbling. It makes me wonder why it took me so long to finally make this upgrade.

My new studio easel

Prior to owning a studio easel, I used my plein air easel for studio use also. My high-tech Soltek easel performed great in both situations: set up and break down could be done in about 30 seconds, it held all of my brushes and palette, and it could handle canvases up to 30” tall, and it was sturdy. Until a leg broke. And the maker never returned my 5 phone calls and 7 emails to discuss repair. Sayonara!

Fortunately, I had the Julian French Easel my mom had given me to use as a backup. It is the classic wooden box easel with folding legs. I enjoy this easel because it came from my mom and its traditional design. However, it takes about 10 minutes to set up and break down (lots of joints with wing bolts), and being all wood, it is heavy, especially if walking any distance when painting en plein air.

French Easel

For plein air painting now, I usually rely on my Daytripper, purchased several months ago. It is a handmade wooden palette that attaches to a light weight tripod. The canvas attaches to the tripod via an adjustable mast. While this easel still takes me about 5 minutes to set up and break down, I don’t have to deal with lots of overtightened screws. It is very light weight and has a large mixing surface. It has no internal storage compartment so I found a backpack that holds it, the tripod and all of my other must-haves.

Daytripper Easel by Josh Been

And then there’s my little cigar box easel. I made this one out of a sturdy cigar box by simply gluing rails in place that my little glass palette can sit on. Below the palette is a space for a few small tubes of paint and a couple of brushes. And the lid is the perfect place to put a small 5x7” canvas. I use this one when I travel, or when I know it will be a long hike to my painting location. This easel sits in my lap while I paint. It’s discreet, perfect for travel, long hikes to the scene, and painting people in action!

Cigar box pochade

Feel free to reach out if you would like more information about any of my easels. I'm happy to help!

Visit my website at bbargerart.com or follow me at Beth Barger Fine Art on Facebook to see more of my work.

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