I have been doing oil painting for 12 years and want to do plein air so bad, but this item is still not available in my country.

[srr_disclosal]

It's called French Easel Box isn't it?
We also didn't have a wall easel, so I made one myself.
However, this one was too complicated for the carpenters in my area.

I used to love camping.
I can boast about the scenery in my country, Indonesia.
Our country consists of more than 17,000 islands. There are many things that can be painted.
But what do you expect from a country that can only provide its citizens with an average monthly income of just $250?

This is my last camping photo in 2018, location Karo, North Sumatra.

Since then, what have I done?
Just sit in my room in front of my computer and seek out overseas clients for my digital art.

I really like painting, but I can't enjoy it.
The access to art supplies is too difficult where I live.
Not only because it is expensive, the shipping costs exceed the prices.
So for now I only do it if there is a commission.

 

[Donna T]

I’m sorry to hear it’s so difficult to get oil painting supplies in Indonesia. Would it be possible to do watercolors or gouache instead? Any plein air time is so worthwhile so I hope you don’t give up on the idea. 17,000 islands are a lot of potential painting views!

 

[srr_disclosal]

I’m sorry to hear it’s so difficult to get oil painting supplies in Indonesia. Would it be possible to do watercolors or gouache instead? Any plein air time is so worthwhile so I hope you don’t give up on the idea. 17,000 islands are a lot of potential painting views!

More precisely, access is uneven, as it's only available in a few major cities like Jakarta, Yogyakarta, and Bali.
And I live on another remote island called Bengkalis (This should be part of Malaysia or Singapore).

Yes, I also do watercolor and gouache, so by art supplies I mean everything including them.
Stretched canvas bars along with easels are the most expensive to ship.

And yes, the french easel box is not available in this country at all.
But just easel box I often see it in the marketplace,
I was wondering if I could modify it by adding a camera tripod,
but that would lose the aesthetic, haha.

 

[Enyaw]

Why on earth would you need a French Easle to plein air. You can do that with a panel on your lap. Lots of make shift plein air boxes, etc. Google search and if you built an in house Easle then I’m more than sure you can build a pochade box or some crude simple piece that works.

 

[PaintBoss]

To make a watercolour easel on a tripod:

With a box

Here is one for oil painting. And note that in the comments people have done this with old cutlery boxes. Like you get when you get a fancy set of silver plated cutlery. You can get these on Facebook marketplace very easily. Hopefully you cantoo.

 

[srr_disclosal]

Why on earth would you need a French Easle to plein air. You can do that with a panel on your lap. Lots of make shift plein air boxes, etc. Google search and if you built an in house Easle then I’m more than sure you can build a pochade box or some crude simple piece that works.

I was writing something for you earlier, but the platform suddenly disappeared. Now I've forgotten what I was going to say. In the end, I'll just say thank you. Maybe I'll follow your suggestion.

 

[srr_disclosal]

To make a watercolour easel on a tripod:

With a box

Here is one for oil painting. And note that in the comments people have done this with old cutlery boxes. Like you get when you get a fancy set of silver plated cutlery. You can get these on Facebook marketplace very easily. Hopefully you cantoo.

So many tutorials, haha. Thank you! I see what I can do.

 

[Enyaw]

I had one. Found it heavy and not all it was cracked up to be.

 

[Bongo]

I was wondering if I could modify it by adding a camera tripod,
but that would lose the aesthetic, haha.

I use a half-box French easel - a little lighter and more compact than the standard version. I love it and totally get what you mean about the aesthetics as well as the functionality -I've made a hundred plus plein-air paintings with them in 16"x20" size with no problem and still going strong.

Having said that, lots of painters use pochade type boxes.

 

[srr_disclosal]

I use a half-box French easel - a little lighter and more compact than the standard version. I love it and totally get what you mean about the aesthetics as well as the functionality -I've made a hundred plus plein-air paintings with them in 16"x20" size with no problem and still going strong.

Having said that, lots of painters use pochade type boxes.

Yeah, half-boxes are cool too.
But I still can't find them anywhere here.

What is the price range in your area?

 

[Bongo]

Halfboxes are harder to find and usually cost more. My first was a used Mabef 23 (23 is the halfbox 22 is the full box)
I got it off Ebay for $163. It was already 30+ years old, but in perfect condition. A few years back I treated myself to a brand new Mabef23 for $215. They go for 280-300+ now! If you can find a good used one, snap it up.

The quality and craftsmanship of my new Mabef 23 is exactly the same as the 30+ year-old one. They improved the way the middle leg deploys but otherwise identical.

Mabef is the unquestioned king of french easels. Julian makes some decent ones too, but they make lesser quality ones also.

The Chinese have flooded the market with really poorly made ones that go for as little as $50-$100. Some might be decent but what I've seen are pure junk. It matters because it's a mechanical thing, you have to break down and put up.

Some models might be okay - read as many reviews on them as you can.
ONLY get one made of beechwood, other woods are either too heavy or too fragile. My preference is the halfbox - I carry it like a backpack.