An easel is an important investment, and the right easel to invest in depends entirely on when, where, and how you will work with yours. The largest, sturdiest H-frame easels are ideal for big canvases and are designed to provide a solid support to hold up against even the most heavy-handed of painters. In contrast, a lightweight field easel can usually slip into a bag and is relatively portable, making it the ideal choice for plein air painting, or for taking to a class. Between these two extremes are easels that store compactly, those that tilt for working flat when your painting media is susceptible to running, and those tailored for artists who work sitting down. Here we address the key considerations to keep in mind when choosing an easel.
![Easel](https://www.jacksonsart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Jacksons_Easel_Guide_Blog_Image-8.jpg)
Lightweight and with the ability to fold compactly, a pochade box on a tripod is a convenient set up for small – medium sized works on panels for both indoor and outdoor painting.
What Makes A Good Easel?
It’s important to consider what will make a good fit with your creative practice. Here are the main factors to address when choosing your easel.
Ease Of Assembly And Use
When they first arrive, a number of easels will require some assembly, while some may just need to be folded out and are ready to use. Many studio easels make use of a ratchet system for raising and lowering the ledge for the canvas. For those who may find this difficult to operate, some varieties of easels have a crank handle that will take much of the weight away when adjusting the height of your canvas ledge. Wing nuts are a common feature on many sketching easels, and will need to be tightened and loosened regularly when using your easel – there are clips instead of wingnuts on some of the aluminium easels such as Jackson’s Watercolour Sketching Easel that you may find easier to work with.
![Easel](https://www.jacksonsart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Easel_Types.png)
Clockwise from top left: A-frame, bookstand, H-frame, Radial (tilted for fluid media work), Field, Pochade, table, donkey, Box, Wentworth table
Storage
How important is storage? While H-frame easels benefit from a sturdy square base, they tend to occupy a greater amount of floor space and are usually intended to be kept out within a designated creative area. That said, most can be folded flat, which can make storage a little easier. Radial easels are perfect for art groups where a number may need to be stacked away in a small space in order to free up floor space when they’re not being used.
![Easel](https://www.jacksonsart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Jacksons_Easel_Guide_Blog_Image-19.jpg)
Radial easels can hold relatively large canvases and panels, while occupying very little space in the studio.
Box and table easels are great for storing paints and other art materials within their drawers. A number of field easels come with their own bag and shoulder strap or carry handle, making it easier to carry all the essentials for your outdoor painting session.
![Easel](https://www.jacksonsart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Jacksons_Easel_Blog_Plein_Air.jpg)
A half box easel has enough space to hold a selection of brushes, paints, rags, medium and a palette for your outdoor painting session.
Versatility
The requirements you demand of your easel may change on a regular basis. The scale to which you work could vary widely, which would require an easel that has a ledge that is easily adjusted. You might like to switch between standing and sitting positions, and you might sometimes work with liquid media that is prone to running, in which case an easel that tilts to a flat position might be an essential prerequisite. If you’re about to buy a new easel, it’s worth thinking about the media you are likely to work with, whether you prefer sitting or standing to paint, and whether you’re likely to need to move the easel around a lot on a day-to-day basis; in which case, an easel on wheels might be the one for you.
![Easel](https://www.jacksonsart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Jacksons_Easel_Guide_Blog_Image-39.jpg)
Table easels are compact and space saving, and can be used for painting either seated or standing.
What Do You Need From Your Easel?
How do you paint? Is it often a dynamic tussle with your canvas as you spread and carve sculptural layers of oil paint? The largest and most solid easels are H-frame, with a broad square base. Or maybe you like to alternate between sitting and standing positions when painting, so it’s important that the height can be adjusted easily – crank handle easels will easily raise or lower the level of your easel’s working height.
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H-Frame easel
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A crank handle is particularly useful when painting at a large scale on a heavy canvas as it takes the weight away when raising or lowering the height of the ledge.
Do you use 3/0-sized brushes to paint miniatures and require the steadiest of hands? In which case a table easel that allows you to rest your elbow on a flat surface as you work might be the solution. Such easels fold into a neat box and many also offer storage space for paints and brushes.
![Easel](https://www.jacksonsart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Jacksons_Easel_Guide_Blog_Image-46.jpg)
Sitting at a table easel is often most comfortable when working on smaller scale, detailed pieces.
Do you rush outdoors at any given opportunity to paint plein air, and therefore need a sketching easel or pochade? Do you work with high fluid paint that drips unless you work on your painting on a horizontal plane? Or maybe you require your easel to tilt forward so that pastel dust falls away from your work. Your approach might be varied and unpredictable. Find an easel that will accommodate the ways you work, and you’ll be rewarded with convenience, practicality and comfort.
Easels at Jackson’s Art
H-Frame easels
Radial easels
Table easels
Sketching easels
Pochade easels
Display easels
With many thanks to the artists of London Fine Art Studios
Further Reading
Jackson’s Easels for in the Studio and on Location
Pochade and French-Style Box Easels for Plein Air Painting
Jackson’s Medium H-Frame Studio Easel Review
A Guide to Painting a Self-portrait From Life
Shop Easels on jacksonsart.com