So you’ve got the right paints, the best brushes and canvases as far as the eye can see – all you need now is the perfect artists easel and you’re ready to create your first masterpiece! Whether you’re working in a studio space, spare room or the kitchen, a reliable easel can be a valuable piece of studio equipment. A good easel can help your posture and offers you a dedicated painting space. There’ll be no more clearing the dining table before you begin painting!
Artists easels come in all shapes and sizes – from large, sturdy studio easels to portable easels to take on your painting trips. You may have never used an easel before, even if you have been painting for a long time. Many artists come to use them first in a college or tutoring setting. Other artists may find that they do not need an easel at all. The most important thing to consider when selecting your easel is practicality. We’ll introduce you to the different types of easels that we stock, and give you some hints and tips that will help you select an easel that is best for you.
Before you buy your first easel it’s important to think about what you need from one. Where will you use your easel? What size is your work? Which painting mediums do you use? What is your painting style like? Are you comfortable standing at an easel or would you need to sit down? Do you have any accessibility issues that need to be taken into consideration? These are all questions you will need to ask yourself that will help you narrow down your choices.
Easels offer different benefits to different artists. Some artists that use easels find that their painting process is much freer. The distance between you and the easel allows for more freedom of movement. There won’t be the restriction to making movements just from the wrist. This is beneficial for artists who favour a loose, energetic style of painting. If you do paint energetically it would be wise to consider buying as sturdy an easel as you can afford. A wooden studio easel would be able to withstand the energy of your movements. A lightweight metal easel would be more unstable. If you are working on a small scale with delicate strokes this wouldn’t be as much of a problem. You will still need your easel to be sturdy, but you could get away with using a more lightweight version.
The environment in which you wish to paint will affect your choice of easel. If you are painting outdoors you will need something compact and portable. If you have a large studio then you may have more space for a sturdier easel. In a spare room you may need to move or store your easel when not in use. You will need something lightweight or even collapsible. Painting in a communal area may mean that you are only able to work from an table mountable easel.
Easels can only hold surfaces up to a maximum height. This is something you will need to double check before you make a purchase. The weight of your work may also be a factor you need to consider. Although most easels will hold canvases of a considerable weight, artists who work with large amounts of mediums, thick paint and collage may need to double check that their paintings do not go above this weight. If you regularly paint work on weighty canvas you would probably be best investing in a heavier studio easel.
Easels and Why They Should Be An Important Part of Any Artist’s Paraphernalia
Whenever you picture an artist, you always see him/her engrossed in their colorful world standing at an easel. Like many other essential materials for a good piece of art, an easel too is an undeniably important part of any artist’s gear. It is of course stress upon especially given the fact that it has been around for centuries, and that too hardly changed. So, lets see why does it hold such value.
An easel is a simple instrument used by artists to hold the canvas in the right position when painting or to display a work of art. The simplest of an easel design is typically tripod, with three upright posts joined at the top end. There are many different sizes and shapes of easels, such as A-frame, H-frame, table top, plein air etc. You can choose an easel that best suits your painting style, medium of use and your budget. Now the question arises is an easel really that necessary? Well, in my opinion it is, maybe not in every situation but mostly.
What are its uses?
In Studio
When working in a studio, you do not need to shift your easel too much. This makes it easier for using a painting easel that’s bulky and difficult too. While an H-frame easel takes up too much space and is only suitable for large studios, an A-frame easel is ideal for smaller studios too owing to its triangular base which can be hauled into a corner. A very small studio or if you are painting at home, then you must opt for a table top easel, which is also the best choice if you paint in watercolors. However, if you prefer to sit and paint then you can also go for bench easels, also known as art horses.
Portable
A portable easel is good if you usually like to paint plein-air. It can easily be folded, has a very lightweight frame and in many designs also holds an attached box to carry brushes, paints, pencils etc. In some of the designs, it may also come with a chair to help you paint when sitting down.
Display
Display easels are just that, easels meant solely to display paintings, as in a gallery or at an exhibition. Their framework is quite flimsy and cannot support you painting on a canvas mounted on it.