In search of the perfect plein air set up.

[john]

I've been trying work out my plein air set/easel between a French easel and a lighter tripod rig. The tripod rig is ok but doesn't have much room for stuff and it's just sort of wimpy. The French easel has more room for stuff but I wanted more work area. So I made two trays that hook onto the sides and then store in the drawer. Now I can bring all my paints and brushes and painting knives and have lots of room to work off of. Yes the whole mess is about 17 pounds but I have backpacking straps attached. With one other bag hung on the back I can bring a stool and beverages and anything I need.
Ends up being about twenty pounds. I probably have way too many knives and brushes and stuff but I'm still figuring out the oil painting thing.

This is it on the desk but normally would have the three legs extended.

This shows the side trays in the drawer. The pallet goes on top of these.

This is it ready to go.

The only problem with this is I can't blame the poor paintings on not having enough stuff.

 

[Bongo]

I like that you're making a rig that conforms to your style rather than the other way around. - there is a reason why the French easel has been around since Roger Julian designed it while a prisoner during WWII. A versatile, solid steady, platform base to paint from (albeit a bit bulky and glitchy)

I already have the perfect Plein air setup (the Yarka) but I just bought a box easel anyway. There is something to be said for tradition and heritage. When the Yarka is set up, you look like a sidewalk hot dog vendor not an artiste.

 

[Bartc]

I never went for the French style easel, because it always felt too wobbly to me. Ironically, the better designed Stradas, which are very expensive, have their stability problems as times too. Ended up centering my rigs, commercial and DIY, on a tripod system.
My first commercial one was a Guerrilla Painter 9x12 box. Worked fine, but I found that the weight of it loaded with my supplies and the torque painting put on the tripod head required swapping in a very heavy duty pant/tilt head. That suits all my boxes fine, even though my tripod is an inexpensive Dolica 600.
From a pochade box on the head style, I moved on to a tray shelf and mast configuration for my pastels and that worked well, but seemed a bit clunky to put together each time. So I DIYed my own tripod head mounted system out of a couple of wooden painting panels and it works like a charm! Easy to set up, pretty stable for my purposes and versatile in many ways.
My observation is that for stability a tripod system works best when the weight of all your supplies is not on top of the head system. The loaded box pochade configurations are not as easy to keep stable .

 

[john]

I like that you're making a rig that conforms to your style rather than the other way around. - there is a reason why the French easel has been around since Roger Julian designed it while a prisoner during WWII. A versatile, solid steady, platform base to paint from (albeit a bit bulky and glitchy)

I already have the perfect Plein air setup (the Yarka) but I just bought a box easel anyway. There is something to be said for tradition and heritage. When the Yarka is set up, you look like a sidewalk hot dog vendor not an artiste.

Yeah a rig for my style. Still not sure what that is. Confused?

I've seen that Yarka. Looks like a great way to go. Thanks, now I'm even more confused.

 

[john]

I never went for the French style easel, because it always felt too wobbly to me. Ironically, the better designed Stradas, which are very expensive, have their stability problems as times too. Ended up centering my rigs, commercial and DIY, on a tripod system.
My first commercial one was a Guerrilla Painter 9x12 box. Worked fine, but I found that the weight of it loaded with my supplies and the torque painting put on the tripod head required swapping in a very heavy duty pant/tilt head. That suits all my boxes fine, even though my tripod is an inexpensive Dolica 600.
From a pochade box on the head style, I moved on to a tray shelf and mast configuration for my pastels and that worked well, but seemed a bit clunky to put together each time. So I DIYed my own tripod head mounted system out of a couple of wooden painting panels and it works like a charm! Easy to set up, pretty stable for my purposes and versatile in many ways.
My observation is that for stability a tripod system works best when the weight of all your supplies is not on top of the head system. The loaded box pochade configurations are not as easy to keep stable .
View attachment 15836

Thanks for insight. I was looking at those Guerrilla Boxes. Andrew Tischler was using one but I noticed he had to steady it with his other hand. Your experience further confirms that while easy and compact, maybe the all in one tripod boxes aren't the most stable. You end up spending more money on the tripod to make it work.

 

[Bartc]

Thanks for insight. I was looking at those Guerrilla Boxes. Andrew Tischler was using one but I noticed he had to steady it with his other hand. Your experience further confirms that while easy and compact, maybe the all in one tripod boxes aren't the most stable. You end up spending more money on the tripod to make it work.

The tripod "pochade" models that are not boxes - rather just palette trays and a mast for holding the canvas - are not a problem, IME. And that is a configuration that appeals to a lot of oil painters, I've noticed. It's the all in one boxes that tend to put the strain on the tripod head. Don't forget that when you press with force onto a canvas you're also creating torque. That's an extra pressure on the tripod head.
If I were to buy another GP box, I would go for their large Campaign Box. But it would have the same challenges.
I find the tripod with a shelf and mast system to be reasonably stable and very versatile.

 

[john]

The tripod "pochade" models that are not boxes - rather just palette trays and a mast for holding the canvas - are not a problem, IME. And that is a configuration that appeals to a lot of oil painters, I've noticed. It's the all in one boxes that tend to put the strain on the tripod head. Don't forget that when you press with force onto a canvas you're also creating torque. That's an extra pressure on the tripod head.
If I were to buy another GP box, I would go for their large Campaign Box. But it would have the same challenges.
I find the tripod with a shelf and mast system to be reasonably stable and very versatile.

Yeah I have a feeling that's where I will end up. There must be a reason that most seem to be using that set up. But it's funny, I just don't like how they look. Too industrial. Like some kind of alien creature. Not organic. I think Bongo was saying the same thing. Wood just looks nicer and I think he or you said it also, traditional. Like something Monet might have used.

 

[Bartc]

If you like wood, for some reason the French setup that Richard Musgrave Evans uses seems to be quite sturdy. He paints very vigorously in the Australian Outback and packs this thing around. Its legs seem sturdier than any French easels I've encountered.

 

[john]

If you like wood, for some reason the French setup that Richard Musgrave Evans uses seems to be quite sturdy. He paints very vigorously in the Australian Outback and packs this thing around. Its legs seem sturdier than any French easels I've encountered.

That guy is like my hero. The outdoorsman in me finds what he does very appealing. Plus he's a character. But without all those flies in the outback. Watching his videos got me using the knife and I really like it.

Now his easel is a trailer. Talk about upsizing!

 

[Bartc]

That guy is like my hero. The outdoorsman in me finds what he does very appealing. Plus he's a character. But without all those flies in the outback. Watching his videos got me using the knife and I really like it.

Now his easel is a trailer. Talk about upsizing!

Not the trailer! LOL Although I would love that and would love a walkabout with him for sure.
Look at his French easel setup. Whatever unit that is seems solid.

 

[Bongo]

Look at his French easel setup. Whatever unit that is seems solid.

Not sure what you're seeing this. It's a standard full-box, with a couple of extensions added for panos(?). BUT the way he's mounted the "pano" extensions makes it worse.

What you want for a panel (or canvas) holder is ideally two vertical supports spaced far apart with crosspiece attached for the panel to rest on.

The tripod type only has one - where the holder attaches to the pole of the tripod. The box type and Yarka have two. The ones on my half-box are nine inches apart, on the Yarka 15 inches apart, and probably somewhere between that on the full box.

He has the pano extensions attached to the center upright section, not the two vertical rails on each side of it - so he loses out on a lot of stability and it shows, the canvas is flopping all around. (not taking anything away from the guy - he's an Australian National Treasure and deservedly so.)

Sometime I'll do a walk-thru breakdown on the Yarka and why it's such an incredible piece of kit - although I can't find any place where the large box (which I have) is still being sold?

During the space race, NASA was stymied on how to make a pen that would work at any angle in a gravity-free environment. Several million research dollars later Fisher came up with a pressurized cartridge - and the Fisher Space Pen.

The Russians faced the same problem - their solution was - to use a pencil.
25 cents vs millions in research. The Yarka is the Russian solution for a Plein air easel.

 

[Bongo]

this might explain my point better

The blue arrows point to the bottom panel rest - which attaches to the sides- giving a wide support to a panel. He could have attached his pano extensions to that. Instead he attached them to those center pieces. The bottom panel rest is suported on both ends - about a foot apart. The pano extensions are attached to those two uprights - maybe 4" apart.

Bartc said:
Its legs seem sturdier than any French easels I've encountered.

I think what you might have seen is when he's carrying it on his shoulder. So you see the legs, but the telescopic portion is retracted - so you're only seeing the top portion, not the skinnier portion of the leg that extends from it.

 

[Bartc]

OK. You're a better observer than I am on this one.

 

[Ayin Es]

Great thread. I exclusively use that Fisher space pen by the way. Ha ha. And happy holidays everyone.

 

[Bongo]

Great thread. I exclusively use that Fisher space pen by the way. Ha ha. And happy holidays everyone.

I use a pencil (kept losing space pens).

I'm an inveterate bed writer.(bed writer not to be confused with bed wetter). So it was space pen or pencil - until now that I have a cell phone, and a tablet which both have built-in stylus and software.

 

[Artyczar]

Yes, that was why the space pen, because I draw in bed--my weird dreamy ideas. I like using pen as to never erase.