Spring 2025 marks my 4th year painting live at weddings and in that time I have gone through so many easels. I started with a French style easel I found on amazon. This felt more authentic for a live wedding painting and I wanted the plein air feel. And it was cute but I found that guest bumped into it a lot and it took up too much room. It wasn't as sturdy as I would have liked so I boxed it up after that first wedding and eventually sold it on marketplace. The next several weddings I took my easel from home; a nice sturdy H frame. I like that this style folded easily and had a shelf on the bottom so that I can rest my feet. I tried to make that floppy hat a thing for about one summer and then gave up on it. The H frame easel was great and it is still my easel I use in the studio but the constant moving and folding took a toll on the wood and now it's hard to get the bolts to tighten enough for everything to stay in place. I added more washers but it really wasn't meant for the constant travel. I've also noticed that I have really added to my paintbrush collection. Additional must have for me was the IPad holder, that folding table and the Staywet pallet. About a year ago I feel in love with a single staff easel I found through facebook advertising. VISWIN Extra-Large Studio Easel, Hold Canvas to 71", Tilts Flat $230 for the darker wood. I did a lot of research and back and forth because it was a little on the pricey side but I really thought it beautiful! And it is! But like the other easels it has some draw backs.... it's huge! and awkward to load. I have to drive my expedition in order to transport it to venues and still lay a seat down. The main staff has to rise for you to raise the height of the canvas which can make the overall height of the easel crazy tall. That's a weird design fail that should have been an easy fix. But it looks great and they did put some decent casters on it so once it's out of the car its fairly easy to move across most surfaces. After a year of moving this monster around I went back to looking at easels and have made what I hope to be my final purchase for a while. The Jack Richeson Sienna Plein Air Canvas HolderI believe I first saw the tripod set up on a Facebook group dedicated to wedding painters and I was intrigued which led to a deep dive and many blogs, Youtube, and Tiktoks later I was convinced I need one. It is very pricey and I hesitated for months before making the purchase. My hope was to find a good used one on Ebay but my problem was I did not want the poache box which is what is more commonly sold. I needed only the canvas holder and a tripod. The Sienna tripod is over $300 alone! So once again lots of research went into this purchase. I eventually went with a nice camera tripod for a little less money Vanguard VEO3+263AB Aluminum Tripod with Ball Head with Multi-Angle Center Column for Overhead Shots it cost about $189 but that's because I went with an older model and it is an excellent tripod. I also ordered a 2nd cheaper tripod with the intentions of sending back the one I didn't like. It was about $79 and I do like that I can fold the legs up so that the overall carrying and loading of this tripod is easier but it is definitely not as nice as the vanguard. VICTIV 80" Camera Tripod, Aluminum Heavy Duty Tripod Stand with 360° Ball Head, Camera Tripods & Monopods with Carry Bag, Professional DSLR Tripod for Canon Nikon Binoculars Spotting Scope Telescope I use this tripod to set up my camera for filming and at home I use it in the studio for my projector.
I opted for the Sienna Plein Air Palette Box (CT-PS-100) ($135) along with the canvas holder ($107)... because I went with a different brand tripod I had to order a different release plate so I could make the attachment from the canvas holder to the tripod. Vanguard QS-60 V2 Quick Shoe Release Plate for Alta Pro 2/2+ and Arca Compatible Tripod Heads So the good... I can now load up almost everything I need in my husband's Honda Accord if I needed to go to a venue and couldn't take my Expedition. It's a ton easier to load and unload and I take up a little less space. My set up still looks nice and professional and I'm better equipped for outdoor venues with uneven ground. The bad.. it was very expensive. and the canvas holder swivels on the tripod but I do think that is something I can fix if I tried. It will only hold up to 30" and I couldn't use it with a frame which is something I'm seeing a lot right now. I probably didn't need the Palette box and it fits weirldly on my tripod but I like the way it looks lol. I regret nothing lol I love my new tripod easel! I also love that I have the beautiful single staff to use when I want to show off at wedding expos or big events. I added a couple more things like the rock holder thing to weigh down the tripod and a folding chair that is really too short for my uses. I now have a nice leather bag to carry it all in and a new chair from my sister in law for Christmas. I plan on breaking down my whole set up in a future blog post and will post more about those later.
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Karla NobleAlmost 20 years of art success and struggles now in writing for your reading pleasure. Archives
January 2025
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