Wet panel carrier

[Bongo]

With a french easel, a common practice is to leave a wet painting on the easel and carry it home that way. But leaving the painting exposed like that seems a bit risky to me as it might get scrapped, or the easel could tip. So I made a wet panel carrier that will protect the painting AND still fit in the french easel.

It actually requires no construction - just some of these cabinet door bumpers

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07S646BZN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and a 2nd panel the same size as the wet painting. In my case the painting is 18"x14". Space the bumpers around the circumference of the panel.

The bumpers have a self-adhesive backing and are made so that only a small "dot" will make contact with the opposing surface. The panel and the painting are then sandwiched together and held in place by two rubber bands.

Now the "sandwich" can be placed back on the french easel and carried home without fear of getting smeared.

I did something similar with my Yarka easel and it works perfectly. The bumpers actually leave no marks on the paintings.
This carrier could also be carried just as easily off the easel. If you put bumpers on both sides of the blank panel you could carry two wet paintings at the same time if desired.

Lots of cool designs for wet panel carriers out there but I needed one that would fit in my halfbox french easel.
This design could also be used around the studio to protect wet paintings while they dry.

 

[Donna T]

Thanks for this, Bongo. I'm guessing that any wet paint that might be disturbed by the bumpers is in the area that a frame would cover anyway. Your solution must weigh a lot less than those wooden bpxes with slots for paintings and it would work well for pastels too.

 

[Bongo]

Thanks for this, Bongo. I'm guessing that any wet paint that might be disturbed by the bumpers is in the area that a frame would cover anyway. Your solution must weigh a lot less than those wooden bpxes with slots for paintings and it would work well for pastels too.

The point of the bumper that comes in contact with the painting is about the size of the tip of a ballpoint pen. I use a version of this on my Yarka easel and it doesn't make any mark on the painting. You can't tell where it was touching.

It is light. I thought about using a piece of foam core instead of a 2nd panel, but the difference in weight would be a few ounces and it wouldn't hold up as well over time. However foam core and bumpers might good way to protect paintings for shipping.