Fundamentally, an easel is just a tool. Its only job is to hold your art steady while you work on it. That’s it. Any easel that can do that, and is appropriately adjustable, will do the trick…But the easels that really catch my eye aren’t the ones that merely do the job, but manage to do it with a little\u00a0style<\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Fundamentally, an easel is just a tool. Its only job is to hold your art steady while you work on it. That’s it. Any<\/em> easel that can do\u00a0that, and is appropriately adjustable, will do the trick. But I’m also looking to strike a balance between “function” and “form” – in other words, appearances matter\u00a0just a little bit. The easels that really catch my eye aren’t the ones that merely do the job, but manage to do it with a little style<\/em>. I know it’s silly, but that’s just how it is for me.<\/p>\n I’m also hard to please, apparently, because although there are\u00a0dozens of options to choose from out there, I’ve not quite found “the one”\u00a0– the easel with such a compelling combination of features and aesthetics that I just have to own it. Nearly all the candidates I’ve seen, despite their many strengths, make\u00a0tradeoffs and compromises that inevitably disappoint.<\/p>\n\t The easels I’ve looked at lately seem to fall into 3 categories:<\/p>\n Note that “too expensive” isn’t on the list. I’ll pay handsomely for a good easel\u00a0because in addition to\u00a0being a tool, it’s also\u00a0a kind of companion that I’ll spend many, many hours with – and I’m choosy about the company I keep. In my opinion (and within reason) there’s no such thing as too expensive… assuming\u00a0it’s the right easel for me.<\/p>\n So let’s take these in order…<\/p>\n Simple, inexpensive easels have their place and can serve a variety of purposes quite well, so when I say “cheap” I don’t mean it disrespectfully. I’m well aware that plenty of artists do beautiful work on very basic, inexpensive easels. But nevertheless, in my experience “budget” easels\u00a0tend to be lightweight, break easily and become\u00a0less stable over time. This category includes most A-Frame and T-Frame models\u00a0I’ve tried. They’re good straight-forward easels for light or occasional use, but\u00a0I’m looking for something more solid and robustly built.<\/p>\n\t I’m a little surprised at how complex some easels have become. I suppose artists use their easels\u00a0in lots of different ways, and manufacturers do their best to meet those needs with more and more available features. The result is a host of offerings, some of which\u00a0seem a little over-engineered.<\/p>\n For me, easels in the “too complicated” category feature things like double-masts, cranks and winches of various kinds, electric motors, or the ability to pivot to a horizontal position making a weird kind of table. While there’s nothing wrong with any of these features\u00a0per se<\/em> (double-masted easels are good\u00a0for supporting very large canvases, for example), they all come with a surplus of joints, hinges and clamps that are prone to break and don’t contribute any functionality\u00a0I’m actually\u00a0seeking.<\/p>\n An example of what I mean can be found in the Best Manhattan<\/em> easel, which features a pivoting “carriage” that can be adjusted independently of the primary easel frame. While I can imagine this design makes the easel more adjustable –\u00a0and I’m sure some artists love it – I found its dense array of struts and knobs befuddling as I examined one in a store. After 15 minutes of twisting and prodding, I still didn’t know\u00a0why it has to be so convoluted.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Almost… But not quite.<\/p>\n The irony here is that the easels we already have at the studio are pretty\u00a0close to what I want\u00a0– sturdy\u00a0H-Frames that have withstood over 12 years of constant abuse. While we’ve had to replace the hardware a few times\u00a0(mostly due to stripped threading on the bolts), they’re as stable today as when\u00a0we bought them. They’re good, solid workhorses.<\/p>\n Quality H-frame easels\u00a0are available at a variety of price points, starting at around $300 for something like the Best Classic Dulce<\/em><\/a> –\u00a0which is very similar to what we have at the studio. If you’re willing to step-up in price a bit, $800-$1,000 will get you something\u00a0with more heft, like\u00a0the\u00a0Best Santa Fe<\/em><\/a> easel or the Mabef Master Studio Easel<\/a>.<\/p>\n At the high end,\u00a0there’s a handful of “Cadillac” models available (or is it Lexus?… Anyone a fan of The Wire<\/em>?). These\u00a0tend to be “professional” calibre easels that are even larger, accommodate a huge\u00a0range\u00a0of canvas sizes, and may\u00a0even feature counterweight systems for easy adjustment (more on this later). Among these is the\u00a0Sienna<\/em>\u00a0counterweight easel<\/a>\u00a0for $1,300, or the\u00a0Hughes easel<\/a>, which starts at $2,199 and tops out at $4,699.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t So why don’t I just get one of these? There are two problems: One is\u00a0the lack of a large shelf\u00a0for my palette. I ditched using a hand-held wooden palette years ago in favor of glass. I love using a glass palette for lots of reasons, but they do tend to be heavy. Some kind of “taboret” (a french word for a small artist’s table) is a must, and ideally I’d like one that’s\u00a0attached to the easel –\u00a0<\/em>that’s the “shelf” I’m talking about. Such shelves are a feature on most of the easels we already have in the studio, but alas that was a custom option that is no longer available from the manufacturer, so I’ve got to find an alternative… and so far, what I’ve turned up isn’t quite right.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t The other problem\u00a0relates to canvas size. Most of the inexpensive\u00a0H-frame models out there are difficult to use with small canvases while seated<\/em>. The center mast is designed in such a way that the top support can’t be positioned lower than about 4 feet off the floor. If you sit to paint (which I do sometimes) and you’re working on a small canvas (which I do often), there’s simply too much space between the upper and lower painting supports. This leaves the top of smaller canvases unsecured, and prone to fall forward onto the floor… or onto your palette, which is a huge<\/em> bummer.<\/p>\n While it’s possible to improvise\u00a0a solution to this problem using clamps or\u00a0other hardware, why should you have to? Remember, an easel’s only job is to hold your art steady while you work. In my opinion, any design\u00a0that doesn’t do that consistently\u00a0is flawed\u00a0– even with small canvases while seated. Most high-end easels don’t have the same problem, but of course they still lack the taboret shelf.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t I admit it may seem drastic, but after lots of fruitless searching I started to wonder whether building an easel from scratch might\u00a0be a possibility. The obvious advantage is that I’d be able to have everything I want and nothing I don’t. The disadvantage is… well… building a f#@%ing\u00a0easel.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I admit it may seem drastic, but after lots of fruitless searching I started to wonder whether building an easel from scratch might\u00a0be a possibility. The obvious advantage is that I’d be able to have everything I want and nothing I don’t. The disadvantage is… well… building a f#@%ing\u00a0easel.<\/p>\n Neither my wife nor I\u00a0is an experienced\u00a0woodworker (Mindy will back me up on this, trust me.) If\u00a0I’m\u00a0going to do something like this, I\u00a0need a plan – a simple plan that doesn’t require exotic skills or expensive tools. My initial Google searching didn’t turn up much, until I stumbled upon a website called\u00a0Artist Easel Plans<\/a>, which sounded promising. Featured there is\u00a0the Cadmium<\/em> H-Frame Easel – a sturdy-looking specimen featuring a counterweight mechanism and\u00a0an optional taboret\/shelf attachment<\/em>. I couldn’t believe my luck. When I showed the site\u00a0to Mindy, her pupils dilated. She’s looking for the same\u00a0kind of easel as I am and told me that if I’m serious about building it, she’s in. That’s great because she’s good with power tools and I can use the help,\u00a0although now we’re looking at building\u00a0two<\/em> easels. Damn it.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t I know what you’re thinking: this is\u00a0going to be difficult<\/em>. And I half-agree with you. The plans for the Cadmium<\/em>\u00a0are, in fact, pretty simple – just as advertised. The problem is that they still require a range of tools and know-how that aren’t really in our wheel house. But we had an\u00a0opportunity recently: we’ve been undergoing a home renovation that involves some custom woodwork. When our contractor (who also happens to be our cousin Brett) learned of our ambitions, he urged us to get cracking on the easels while his workmen – and all of their tools – are at our house\u00a0everyday. That way, we can make use of gear that we don’t already own, like a table saw, a sliding compound miter saw, and a nail gun. If we run into trouble, “the guys” as we affectionately call them, will be around to help us out.<\/p>\n Giddy-up.<\/p>\n\t The Cadmium’s<\/em> signature feature is a counterweight system that allows for adjusting the height of the easel with “fingertip ease”. To accommodate the mechanism, the easel sports a compound frame – an outer stationary fame which supports most of the weight, and an inner “slider” frame that moves up and down on a tongue-and-groove track. To counterbalance the weight of the slider (which carries with it the center mast, painting supports, the taboret, and your artwork), the plans\u00a0suggest using barbell plates suspended on\u00a0a simple rig of ropes and pulleys – as the slider moves up, the weight moves down and vice-versa, much like how an elevator works. The overall effect is that when adjusting the height of the slider, the whole\u00a0assembly feels lighter than it actually is because the counterweight provides a nice assist.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t This whole business puts the Cadmium<\/em> dangerously close to the “too complicated” category described above. But I’ve been “counterweight curious” for a long time, considering options like the Hughes easel<\/a> and the\u00a0Sienna<\/em> counterweight easel<\/a>, so I was inclined to give the Cadmium<\/em> a shot despite the complexity. Any remaining\u00a0reservations I had evaporated when I discovered that Bob Perrish, the man behind Artist Easel Plans, isn’t “just” a woodworker (no disrespect to woodworkers intended), but is an accomplished painter<\/a> in his own right\u00a0who actually knows what it’s like to use an easel every day. I figured\u00a0it was worth the $35 for the plans to find out\u00a0more.<\/p>\n I should\u00a0note here that the plans\u00a0aren’t available in digital format – there’s no PDF. If you buy them, you’ll have to wait for Bob to mail you a hard-copy. I wasn’t in a hurry so I didn’t really mind, but I’m just so used to being able to click that “Download Now” link.<\/p>\n The plans arrived a few days later and they were exactly what I was expecting. At 23 pages, they’re quite thorough, with plenty of clear diagrams and photos. The build procedure is laid out in sequential\u00a0steps, each one anticipating the next, and Bob’s\u00a0descriptions make it\u00a0easy to understand how all the pieces should fit together. He\u00a0also includes a comprehensive parts list, including\u00a0Rockler.com part numbers for some of the harder-to-find items.<\/p>\n Be aware, however, that these plans are definitely written\u00a0for an American audience – if you want to try building one of these in most other parts of the world, be prepared to deal\u00a0with US\u00a0measurements and metric conversion.<\/p>\n\t With Bob’s clear shopping list to guide us, getting all the required\u00a0materials was easy. We got most of the stuff at Menard’s, but Lowe’s, Home Depot or any other well-stocked hardware store will do the trick. The only pieces we had to order online were the 5-star knobs and T-bolts, which are “specialty items” and not stocked at the store.<\/p>\n Our first big decision was to\u00a0choose what kind of wood to use, which is\u00a0mainly a matter of price, aesthetics and personal preferrence. We decided\u00a0to go with oak because that’s what our existing studio easels are made from, and it performs well under duress. But if you\u00a0choose to go with hardwood, you should probably plan to use a nail gun. Once we started assembling the easels, it became clear that tapping dozens of finishing nails into solid oak by hand would take forever, and probably require pre-drilling the holes. But the guys had a pneumatic brad\u00a0nailer lying around that made short work of it, so thank heaven\u00a0for power tools.<\/p>\n Bob has already done the math with respect to the dimensions of boards\u00a0to buy, but we improvised\u00a0a little there. He suggests buying a number of 1×6’s and “ripping” them down to the required widths (a “rip cut” is made parallel to the wood grain, so in this case it means feeding the boards length-wise through a\u00a0table saw). But Menard’s offers a range of pre-cut, pre-sanded boards in many of the sizes we needed, which meant less ripping and less chance of cutting off our fingers, which is fine by me. (Thanks for the tip, Brett!)<\/p>\n\t A word to the wise: consider\u00a0the quality of your boards carefully before you buy! Look\u00a0for blemishes like\u00a0knots, gouges, dents and dings, and\u00a0be sure\u00a0to check for warps by holding each\u00a0board up to your eye length-wise – like you’re looking through a telescope. We had to rebuild one of our easel frames because we failed to notice that the wood was warped, preventing the easel’s counterweight slider mechanism from working properly. This was one of our bigger\u00a0rookie mistakes.<\/p>\n\t Once the boards are cut and the hardware is procured, it’s time to get building, and you’ll want to\u00a0make sure you have plenty of space to work. The longest of the boards is well over 6 feet, so it’s not something you can do in a closet. Also, some kind of sturdy table will be a real asset so you can clamp the boards down to something while you glue and nail them together. We made heavy use of our kitchen island for this purpose – just take care that you don’t damage your furniture.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t The actual build\u00a0went about as smoothly\u00a0as we expected, which is to say some\u00a0of it seemed easy, and some of it not so much. One thing\u00a0I found consistently surprising, however, was how long it took. We worked on the easels in the evenings after dinner. In the plans, each step\u00a0seems pretty straight forward – “We can knock that out in a couple of hours.” I would think to myself. But each evening, two hours\u00a0would turn\u00a0into four, then into six, and\u00a0we ended up putting in a lot of late nights. I honestly don’t know if the slow pace is because of our sheer\u00a0inexperience, but we found that cutting and assembling wood with care isn’t a speedy business.\u00a0All told,\u00a0it took us about\u00a0a\u00a0month to complete the easels, from our first read of\u00a0the plans\u00a0to\u00a0final assembly. We didn’t work on them every day, and that month includes time spent back-tracking to redo steps that we screwed up. But if you\u00a0plan to build one, you should probably budget the same amount of time, assuming a similar level of experience and that you’ll chip away at this\u00a0in your spare time, like we did.<\/p>\n There are other variables to consider. The taboret shelf is optional, and is also one of the more complicated components of the design. You could choose to omit it and save yourself some time. You could also choose\u00a0to\u00a0paint your easel instead of stain it. We opted for stain, but that requires subsequent applications of a clear-coat finish. Three coats of polyurethane looks beautiful, but it does add to the completion time for the project – each coat has to be dry and\u00a0sanded before the next one is applied. It turns out that\u00a0wood finishing\u00a0is a bit of an art form in its own right, so I spent some additional\u00a0time absorbing YouTube videos on the subject\u00a0before attempting it myself.<\/p>\n We didn’t go off script very often – Bob’s plans are very well thought out, so there’s little reason not to take his advice. But we did opt for black hardware where possible\u00a0because we preferred the look of it to\u00a0standard\u00a0zinc hinges and carriage bolts. We also purchased some\u00a0sandbags to use as counterweights. We tried the suggested barbell plates, but\u00a0the movement of the iron plates\u00a0seemed likely to\u00a0dent and scrape\u00a0the wood. The nylon sandbags are\u00a0soft-sided, so they’re\u00a0much kinder to the finish.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t The Easels<\/strong><\/p>\n So what are they like? I’m happy to report that we absolutely love them! First off, these are by far the biggest, and\u00a0heaviest easels we’ve ever owned. Bob calls this “an easel for a lifetime” and that’s no joke – decades from now, I imagine being able to pass this down to some lucky student.\u00a0Each one stands 7 feet tall (with casters), and weighs just shy of\u00a080lbs<\/em> (that’s\u00a0not<\/em> including the 25-35lbs of counterweight). They’re just beasts.<\/em> This means that\u00a0they’re\u00a0extremely stable – there is absolutely no wobble or creak anywhere, and you can lean-in on\u00a0them while working and they just won’t budge. That’s all\u00a0great, but you need to be sure that a) you have room for one, and b) that you’re strong enough to move it.\u00a0Some of the weight is due to\u00a0our decision to use oak – which is dense and heavy – and attaching casters to the bottom will help with mobility, but make no mistake: these\u00a0are\u00a0very<\/em> robust easels.<\/p>\n Second, they look\u00a0beautiful, <\/em>which I credit more\u00a0to the design\u00a0than\u00a0our woodworking prowess. The compound frame contributes\u00a0a satisfying thickness to the easels, and the luster of the stain and\u00a0the 3 coats of polyurethane makes them look like fine antique furniture. More than one friend has remarked\u00a0that\u00a0they look like something you’d find in a Frank Lloyd Wright home, and that’s not much of\u00a0an exaggeration.\u00a0This kind of aesthetic is a mixed blessing, however. On the one hand, I’m happy to own such a beautiful thing and even happier to have made it myself. On the other hand, I need to use this\u00a0for real work, which means it’s likely to get dents and dings and paint all over\u00a0it. It’s tempting to fetishize an easel like this and want to keep it pristine, but that would be counter-productive. I’ll say it one last time: an easel is just a tool – like a hammer or a screwdriver\u00a0– and it’s pointless to be precious about it. With an easel like this, however, “letting go” will\u00a0take some real effort.<\/p>\n Third, and perhaps most appealing, the cost of the easels is\u00a0extremely\u00a0<\/em>reasonable. All told, we spent somewhere around\u00a0$500 USD on parts and materials for\u00a0both<\/em>\u00a0of them – that includes buying\u00a0additional\u00a0wood to fix our\u00a0mistakes, and re-purchasing hinges and bolts\u00a0after we changed our minds and decided to go with black hardware. If\u00a0you’re efficient and choose the most inexpensive materials, Bob says you could build one for as little as $150 USD<\/em>. For an easel of this quality, that’s an absurdly low cost – provided\u00a0you’re willing to invest the work.<\/p>\n\t In the end, I’m really happy we did this. The easels meet our\u00a0needs perfectly, and we\u00a0get\u00a0the satisfaction of having built them on our own (aside from borrowing some tools, we didn’t need help from “the guys” after all). It was also a lot of fun. We both enjoyed\u00a0having an\u00a0end-of-the-day project to putter on, and while\u00a0Mindy and I had our disagreements during the build,\u00a0we’re still married\u00a0and even\u00a0have some good memories of the experience.<\/p>\n So\u00a0should you try making one, too? I think you should, with the caveats already mentioned: make sure you have appropriate\u00a0space, both for the easel itself, and for the build procedure. Woodworking isn’t exactly a “low impact” activity – you should expect lots of dust and fumes and the usual risks that come with using\u00a0power tools.\u00a0Also, while the\u00a0plans make the build as easy as possible, it’s not exactly easy for novices. Perhaps Bob addresses this subject\u00a0best in the Q&A section of his website:<\/p>\n QUESTION<\/strong> –\u00a0How hard are these projects to build?<\/em><\/p>\n ANSWER<\/strong>\u00a0 –\u00a0 Some woodworking experience is necessary for sure. Assembly is done with some finish nails, some screws and glue. The wood will have to be cut to size which requires a table saw. A drill and simple hand tools like a hammer, screwdriver, measuring tools are needed. If you are experienced with a table saw, everything is very simple[…] If not, you could ask people you know to cut the wood for you and you could assemble it as well.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nBut what kind of easel?<\/h4>\n
The Options<\/h2>\n
\n
\n\t\tToo Cheap\n\t<\/h3>\n\t
Too Complicated<\/h3>\n
![\"A](\"http:\/\/media.vitruvianstudio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/25120508\/A-Frame-1.jpg\" "\\"A-Frame\\"")
\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\tA typical “A-Frame” easel. Serviceable and inexpensive, but not the most robust option.\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\tThe Best Manhattan<\/em> easel: complicated.
(image from CheapJoes.com<\/a>)\n\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\tA basic H-Frame easel. Solid and sturdy, but with some limitations.\n\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\tOur H-Frames at the studio feature an integrated “taboret” shelf that I’ve grown to like.\n\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\tThe top canvas support won’t drop low enough to meet the top of small canvases while seated. Not ideal.\n\t\n\t\tThe Solution\n\t<\/h3>\n\t
\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\tAn example build of the Cadmium<\/em> H-Frame easel from ArtistEaselPlans.com\n\tThe Plans<\/h3>\n
\n\t\tOur well-worn copy of Bob Perrish’s Cadmium<\/em> H-frame easel plans.\n\tThe Build<\/h3>\n
\n\t\tSome of the easel components prior to staining.\n\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\tWe made heavy use of our kitchen island as a kind of work table for glueing, clamping and nailing boards together. No, we didn’t damage it. Yes, we should have put down something to protect it as a precaution anyway.\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\tApplying stain to the easel components prior to assembly.\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\tMy easel frame and a few other components sit drying after a third coat of polyurethane.\n\tThe Last Word<\/h3>\n
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