The Best Plein Air Easels for Artists
What’s the best easel for plein air painting? We asked, and you answered! Dozens of artists share what their favorite plein air easels (including some DIY versions!) are, including why they’re top choice.
“Heilman pastel box and easel with a tripod. Super small and lightweight!” ~Pamela Hamilton
“Sienna medium and Strada mini ….love them both!” ~Robin Raymond
“This one (below), the one with me in my hat!!!, made by René Melenberg for me !!” AND “this one, made by Krayart Dmitryi Kraevski in Russia” ~Louise Treacy
“Jullian Escort French Easel with Alex Hardy French Easel Carrier Back Strap. Fits all my oil paints and materials and I can throw it on my back when done.” ~Erica Bey
“I fabricated mine from an old camera tripod, with a paint box and canvas holder made from wood scraps and inexpensive hardware. It’s very functional. Why? Cost.” ~Mike Tavares
“I love my Joshua Been DayTripper. It fits in a backpack!” ~Maggii Sarfaty
“I use a modified inexpensive wooden art material suitcase as a pochade box. I replaced the hinges with torsion controlled ones, added a quick release plate and put it on my tripod. I use it because here in Germany you don’t find any useful pochade boxes to buy. You can get one from the UK, but even that one doesn’t seem to be as sophisticated as the multiple ones which can be bought in the US. And it is cheap.” ~Christian Krebs
“Sturdy aluminium easel with a homemade palette box and paint garage—easel was €70, box cost €10 total! Stable enough to withstand licking by cows!” ~Sheila Mac Nally
“I use the carbon Manfrotto BeFree photography tripod. It is lightweight and can be folded up very small, weighing less than a kilo. Then I have a custom-made French Mistress palette and a custom-made lightweight wooden panel to attach to the tripod. Been to the Twintrees Painting Festival in Ireland with this set-up and it worked beautifully for me.” ~Joanne Fenech Portelli
“Open Box M, light, doesn’t take up a huge amount of space. Took the thumbscrews out so it goes in and out of a pack easier. It’s not super deep, which I like—not a long ways down to your paint. I’ll use the small or larger size, depending on how far I’m hiking. And Open Box M is really good about sending you parts if you need them. I’ve been using one here for twenty years now.” ~Bill Lawrence
“Jullian French Easel, going to get a U Go from Judson with a Guerilla Award from Land Arts for a lightweight alternative.” ~Lisa BurgerLentz
“My Soltek. It’s not that light but it’s awesome in the wind and on any landscape … uneven or not.” ~Cat Frohloff-Braunwell
“Based on Stefan Baumann’s recommendation on YouTube, I bought the EasyL Pro. It has worked out great for me so far. Lightweight, easy to assemble and disassemble, and I really like that it can hold three wet panels on it. It came at a good price and included the tripod. The company Artwork Essentials makes such a good product, I later bought their umbrella, which also works great for me.” ~John Nagridge
“French easel- holds everything I need.” ~Justin Collamore (shown at top of article)
“I like the Soltek easel when I’m using oils, especially on a windy day, as it’s sturdy and carries most of my materials for easy travel. It has been all over Europe and the States with me for years now. When I go out to do watercolors, I like my 9×12 wooden pochade box as it packs in a small carry bag. Can’t remember the name though.” ~Charlotte Wharton
“Strada Easel because it withstood the high winds at El Rancho de las Golondrinas!” ~Cheryl Hughes
“Old photo tripod and my Guerilla Painter Cigar Box without the palette is great for pastels. I also use a Guerrilla French Resistance for oils. 9×12 sizes fit in a backpack with the Tripod for hands-free trekking.” ~Kath Schifano
“I built my own out of a plastic drill box I got from Home Depot. I pulled the form out then made the inside folding panel carriers from gator board. It holds three panels, all my paints, and brushes and brush washer. It’s light and can’t break.” ~Jonathon Williams
“Years ago I would paint with my friend’s father, Claude Deegan from Belpre, Ohio. I was gifted his Creative Mark Cezanne Half Box French Easel. I think of him every time I paint. It is amazingly sturdy and has never blown over! In the background is the John F. Kennedy in Philadelphia.” ~Yvonne Mucci
“As a pastelist, I like to take out a full French easel on location. It is heavier than some plein air easels, but it is very stable in the wind, even with an umbrella attached, and holds a good amount of weight. When possible, I take out a well-stocked Heilman pastel box, and I feel extremely fortunate that I have never had my easel give out, which would result in having to pick up hundreds of pieces of pastel sticks! Yep, my Jullian French easel gives me the confidence I need when painting on location!” ~Barbara Reich
“For pastels, I use a Siena Pastel Easel on a tripod, and for oils a Guerrilla Pochade Box 9×12, again on a tripod. Each set up for easy transporting and stocked ready for my Sunday morning weekly paint-outs Spring to Summer.” ~Sheila Mitchell
“I use a Sienna easel and tripod. It was a gift from my brothers. It was my first Pochade box and is pretty hardy for all I put it through. It packs into a hiking pack quickly, but when I’m ready to upgrade I will probably select something more lightweight.” ~Erin Fearns
“Prolific Painter Daytripper, by Joshua Been. I need the real estate!” ~Casey Cheuvront
“Most of the time I use French-style easel which is still the most versatile one if you do not mind the weight.” ~Weiming Zhao
“En Plein Air Pro. Everything I need packs in a duffel that is lightweight, easy to carry, and sets up in two minutes! It is stable in wind and adjusts for uneven ground. I recently bought the backpack version too! It fits under the seat for domestic or overseas flights.” ~Martha Elchert
“Made my own with my husband’s help.” ~Kathy Stutzman
“Plein Air Pro for Watercolor. Lightweight, easy to put up, has its own palette and a duffle bag that’s big enough to carry everything I need! I love it!” ~Lisabeth Beiler Curnow
“My half-size Mabef! It has everything a traditional size French easel has AND it holds a large canvas and the drawer sticks out enough to use it as a table top and, as you can see, I attach my umbrella to it and it even has a small drawer for storage and is light:)” ~Teri T-Edgeworth
“I have three easels, but the Open Box M is my go-to. Light, fits in backpack, quick set-up.” ~Anne Stickney
“Strada easel. Traveling full time in a motorhome, it is durable, and I like the variety of canvas sizes it allows.” ~Sara Chauvot
“Fly-on-the-Wall by Prolific Painter (Joshua Been) after the Jullian, Sienna pochade, and the Daytripper, finally a small one with big space. Add a palette garage and I’ve got it made!” ~Andrea Jeris
“Open Box M. Lightweight, compact. Holding up well through rain, snow, airline cargo, and more.” ~Kathleen Gray Farthing
“Jullian full box if someone is taking me by car. Frank Herring if I’m going by bike — oils. Board and tripod — watercolour, inks, or pastel.” ~Philip Chadwick
“I like to use my French wooden easel. It holds in it everything I need, and the wet painting seats securely on the front when I finish. Looks professional, it is handy and always ready in the car to go with me anywhere I go. Picture: painting under the Millennium Bridge in London.” ~Agnieszka Matyjaszek
“My car: provides great shade on hot Georgia asphalt! Easel: En Plein-Air Pro easel” ~Maria Hoath Peagler
“The French Easel!! This thing has been with me from the start.” ~Nate Flanagan
“Homemade easel from two slightly warped recycled wood panels and parts from the hardware store, mounted to a camera tripod from Amazon! Panels are secured to the easel with basic spring clamps. Got the idea and basic design from James Gurney’s blog. Made out of thrift, but it was a fun project and works pretty well!” ~Bonnie Klein
“Strada easel, love it!” ~Daphne Clark
“I use an Easy L Versa.” ~Diane Elizabeth Larson
“My Strada. Easy to carry and durable.” ~Alicia Pulcher
“Open Box M … it has traveled around the country with me and has held up wonderfully!” ~Melissa Gryder
“EasyL mini. Fits in a backpack, then I carry a Raymar wet panel carrier.” ~Laurinda Lee
“I love both my Edgeprogear sketch & paintbook. As a busy mom of three, set-up and take-down are a breeze. Also, I love the versatility of the palette … can be positioned vertically. Plus, it’s just so sleek!” ~Casey Krawczyk
“Strada Mini! All seasons!” ~ Abbey Fitzgerald
“I have a Strada Mini, going on five years. I love it. Sturdy, compact, but plenty of room for mixing with the two side attachments that fit inside each other to hold your wet paint.” ~Mary Beth Thompson
“Take It Easel is my main rig. I like it because I can do large-format painting and it is very stable. I can hang a lot of gear on it and keep it from blowing away. I do have to use a handmade rack I made for balancing smaller canvas. Strada easel is my #2 rig. I like it because it looks like a computer.” ~Megan Jonas
“Lately a homemade wooden box. I also like a French half box.” ~Hank Buffington
“Plein Air Pro travel watercolour easel. All fits into its rucksack with space for easel, tripod, palette table paints, etc. So thrilled with it.” ~Mairead Holohan
“Good old-fashioned Jullian Full box French easel … my work horse. Have used the same type for 20 years now!” ~Kyle Buckland
“I love my Strada Mini for oil painting. I have flown with it in my backpack. It’s easy to put together and pack up and is lightweight!” ~Wendy Kay McWhorter
“My easel is one I designed and built to fit in a backpack for painting in New York City. That way I could take the subway where I wanted to go easily.” ~Jeff Allen
“I’ve had six different styles, but I always go back to my favorite lightweight Open Box M. I can hike miles to paint with it and have even had to use a pile of snow to hold it when I forgot my tripod! I’ve used it sitting in a kayak, floating on a salmon dock, and in the mountains of Alaska! Tried and true friend.” ~Nancy Angelini Crawford
“Edge Pro paint book. I love it, so quick to set up. It has magnetic panel holders that hold canvases or panels or their magnetic panels. It features paint trays on both sides and my favorite feature is the glass palette. It can be used on a table or with a tripod at just about any angle. I carry it in my laptop/camera bag, or my plain ole laptop bag. Great design and quality. I would definitely recommend it.” ~Jason Bailey
“When first painting plein air, I made this box from an instruction video. Been using it for many years now. Would now love something a little more streamlined that’s affordable, or design one myself.” ~Laurie Samara-Schlag
“I use a Strada mini, and I put the wing with the paint on it in the freezer in the camper while we travel to save paint.” ~Linda Jo Hunter
“I use a Soltek. I love it because it’s light, easy to set up, and it’s cool looking. I also made a rig for it so I can paint on my ladder for different vantage points.” ~Charles Newman
“I have three easels. Starting with a classic French easel, I use an Open Box M when I travel by air. I like to paint large. Last spring during a plein air competition event, I was painting a 24 x 30 on my French easel. Well, it blew over, twice. The backpack weight notwithstanding, I decided to change. I now use a Gloucester Take It Easel. It served me well in the recent PleinAirTEXAS event where I painted in 35 mph winds.” ~Stephen Gary Frisk
“Alla Prima Belly River Pochade and compact Manfrotto tripod with ball head for overseas painting and Soltek easel when painting closer to home. Love them both.” ~Jan Norsetter
“En Plein Air Pro Easel. It’s lightweight, assembles easily, and I use it in my studio as well as plein air. It’s been to China, Italy, California, Seattle, Wisconsin, Florida, Denver, North and South Carolina, NYC, and next spring to the plein air convention! See you all there!” ~Carolyn Zbavitel
“Guerrilla cigar box 8 x 10 on a camera tripod with an insert for smaller panels.” ~Melissa Moffett
“Custom tailgate easel. Sturdy for large work.” ~Carl Bork
“Guerilla 9 x 12 laptop box with palette extender. Found it on Judson’s “seconds” page, which offers tremendous values on pochade boxes, and other plein air stuff. Solvent is in a converted plastic jar which once held Newman’s Own marinara sauce. It won’t break if it falls.” ~Sue Ginter
“Open Box M. They stand behind their products. I smashed it on the road and was sent in and repaired for shipping costs.” ~Lori Wallis Feldpausch
“Always use this suitcase easel.” ~Ute Farr
“I use the French easel. It’s so convenient for me.” ~Yuriy Kapranov
What plein air easel do you use? Share it with us in the comments below!
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