**Authentically Human! Not Written by AI**
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| John Singer Sargent in the field. If it was a good enough field easel for Sargent, it's good enough for me. |
One question I get frequently from beginning plein air painters is: What should I buy for gear and materials? I thought I'd address this in my blog now, seeing that Christmas is only 91 days away, and perhaps we should start thinking of what to ask Santa.
Once upon a time, painters had little choice for field easels. A very simple one, basically made of three sticks bolted at the top to make a tripod, and with a fourth stick attached horizontally to make a shelf, was the only option. Completely functional, these are still on the market today. But who wants a VW Beetle when you can get a Cadillac Deville? Today there's a wide range of field easels to fit every need—including some needs you didn't even know you had.
As you browse through the catalog, here are some things to look for in a field easel:
- Lightness. Lugging a heavy easel to your painting spot will tire you out. You'll want to carry your easel—and all your other materials—in one trip from the car.
- Simplicity. An easel that's complicated to set up steals precious time. The fewer the pieces, hinges, screws and bolts, the better.
- Stability. Make sure the easel has a broad footprint so it'll stand up in the wind. In a tripod, make sure the head is not made of plastic; you can't tighten plastic enough to avoid wobble.
As for types of field easels, here are three basic types:
- A self-contained pochade box, which will have room for everything, including wet panel storage, brushes and paints. (You will, however, need a tripod.) An example of this is the Guerrilla Painter 8x10 Cigar Box, my current favorite.
- A stripped-down clamshell, such as the Open Box M. The bottom part serves as a palette and the top, as a panel holder. This requires a modular approach; you will need a separate wet panel carrier, turps jar, paint box and brush holder. (Plus a tripod.) I have several Open Box Ms in different sizes, and I still use them. (The company seems to be out of business, alas, so here is the Strada, which is something like it.)
- A French easel or similar. Although this is now considered old-school, it has plenty of room for all your materials, serves as its own tripod and is incredibly stable in the wind. The only drawback is that it's heavy and has no storage space for a wet panel. This is my go-to easel when all else fails.
There are many other versions. But you'll find that no solution is perfect. Try different options. You also might check out what your painting buddies use—chances are, they'll have a setup completely different than yours, and it might be better. By the way, athough I'm writing from the viewpoint of an oil painter, there are similar easels for other media.
Here's a short video of some boxes I own:
And what about materials? Take a very stripped-down version of whatever you use in the studio. The same basic concepts apply: lightness, simplicity and stability. Take two brushes rather than ten. Take a limited palette of three colors instead of a dozen. Take items that will stay securely in your work area without being knocked over by wind or an errant elbow.
Finally, take only the minium you need to accomplish your goal. For example, if I only want to make color studies, I'll take just a small bag with my gouache kit and work in my lap. You might have bigger goals, though—and I'll address those in my next post.
