Artist Tools: The Easel
An Easel is a stand designed to display artwork, or to hold and support an artist canvas during painting.
It is usually made of wood or metal and range in sizes from small table top easels to large professional studio easels.
Which easel to choose depends on your working methods.
You should consider the size of the work you will be creating, and also which media you are planning to you use.
If you work in many different media, it’s important to choose an easel that is easily adjustable and flexible.
You should also consider whether you will use it outdoors or in your studio.
Different Types of Easels:
Table top Easel:
A Table Top easel is generally the least expensive easel on the market.
It can only handle small to medium canvas and panel sizes, and is therefore only suitable for small scale work.
The easel is small and compact and can be easily folded up, transported or stored away.
This easel does not need a lot of space for either use or storage and is an excellent choice for the beginning artists.
It can usually be purchased in both metal and wood.
Sketchbox/Paintbox Easel:
A Sketchbox/Paintbox easel includes a container box which the artist can use to store their painting supplies.
It can be used for outdoor painting and are great for watercolour painting.
It is often purchased and used by beginning artists.
French Easels:
French easels are a combination of a sketchbox, an easel, and a built-in canvas carrier and is usually made of wood.
This easel is excellent for artists who paints on location or needs easily transportable equipment.
The easel is easy to fold up and is normally adaptable to most painting angles (forward, vertical and flat).
The sketchbox can be used to hold painting supplies, palettes and brushes.
Sketching, Portable and Display Easel:
These are lightweight easels which is great for transporting and working outdoors.
The display easels are usually used by artists to showcase work when there is no wall space, or for any other decorative art display.
Studio Easels:
Studio Easels are large, floor-standing easels which can accommodate large canvases.
These easels are usually made from hardwood, and can be very large, heavy and expensive.
They are excellent for large oil and acrylic paintings
|
