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Easel Buying Guide
Whether you’re a hobbyist who dabbles in watercolors or a serious student of the fine arts, you need a comfortable and sturdy painting easel to support your work in progress. Painting easels vary widely in price, features and style, so how do you know which one to select for your studio? Your choices will be based on the media you use, the size of the canvases you work with and the places where you paint. Pronto’s Easel Buying Guide will put you on the path to painting like Picasso. Beret on? Brush in hand? Let’s get painting!
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the five
What are the five key points I need to look at?
Easel styles
If you work on small-scale paintings, prefer to sit while painting and have limited work and storage space, choose a table-top painting easel. If you use larger canvases and like to stand, choose a floor easel.
Easel frames
H-frame easels are the sturdiest design, but they’re also the least portable. Consider a tripod frame or a French easel that includes a box for supplies and carries your canvas. Choose taborets if you’re purchasing the easel solely for studio use.
Construction
Choose a heavier steel or wood easel only if you know you won’t need to move it often. Aluminum tripod easels are lightweight and offer unlimited freedom of leg adjustment, but they’re not as sturdy as wooden tripod easels.
Matching easels to media
Different types of paint require different canvas angles. Make sure the easel you choose can adjust vertically to accommodate the media you like to use.
Easel prices
Match your easel budget to your level of skill as a painter. Beginners don’t need to spend much to get a good work surface. Look for canvas supports that are adjustable, and make sure you’re comfortable with the method used for adjustment.
pronto pick
What product do we recommend?
We like the Jack Richeson Academy Lobo Easel, which suits artists of all ages and abilities. This easel is made of hardwood and is fully adjustable, allowing the canvas to be placed horizontally for watercolor work, vertically for oils and acrylics or tilted forward for pastels. It can accommodate canvases up to 44 inches in height and is easy to assemble. This H-frame easel also folds flat for storage and transport.
experts say
DrawingCoach—“You will also want to look at the material that your easel is made from. Most are wood and there are now some being made from different types of metals. I prefer the wooden easels personally as the metal ones feel a little cold and flimsy.” Source: Drawingcoach.com
Easel Source—“Look for art easels that provide access to an entire canvas without sacrificing safety. Large lip supports can get in the way, and tilting a canvas to accommodate them will attract dust, particularly when using oils. If you're working with watercolors, look for an art easel that can hold your canvas horizontally.” Source: Easelsource.com
WingedBlue Arts—“Remember, a larger easel can almost always handle even miniature sizes, but a small easel cannot handle even mid-sized work without difficulty. Always look to get an easel that will be versatile enough to fulfill your "biggest" desires, unless you plan on getting more than one.” Source: Wingedblue.com
hot buzz
What's the latest in the world of easels?
Easels have gone electronic for the nursery school set. The New York Times reports in Personal Tech that Fisher Price’s Digital Arts and Crafts Studio, a $50 device about the size of a standard keyboard, plugs into your computer’s USB port, and allows children to draw with a marker-size stylus. Kids can use the supplied coloring pages and craft ideas, or freely draw whatever they dream up.
Wallet Impact
What can I expect in my price range?
| Price | Description | Good Pick (see all Easels) |
| $ | Budget easels are stable, lightweight and compact. Many have telescoping legs that easily adjust to your height or work surface, and some have an adjustable canvas clamp. Look for carrying cases and a one-year guarantee. |
Compare prices at 2 stores $44 - $48 |
| $$ | Midrange easels may be constructed from woods like red oak and have quad (rather than tripod) bases that offer added stability, a mid-level canvas tray for painting smaller works, rubber grips to secure your canvas and trays that support larger pieces. Check the vertical adjustability of these easels and make sure you’re comfortable with the methods used for adjustment. |
Buy now at 
$188.63 |
| $$$ | High-end easels for the serious artist offer hand-rubbed hardwoods fitted with heavy-duty marine winches that can lift up to 300 pounds. These easels have specially designed hardware, accommodate almost any size canvas and are completely adjustable to any angle. |
Compare prices at 2 stores $1,034 - $1,075 |
shop talk
What are the terms and definitions I need to know about?
Acrylic
Paints made with a water base of pigment mixed with acrylic resin, which allows them to be thinned with water to make a glaze. Acrylics dry very quickly and are a favorite of artists because of their versatility.
French Easel
A portable wooden easel with a built-in box that stores art supplies and a back-mounted holder that allows you to attach a canvas for easy transport.
H-Frame
An easel with two parallel posts that frame a movable center canvas support, resembling the letter H. These easels typically have flat bottoms and are best for studio use.
Oils
Paints made with natural oils (linseed, walnut or poppy) as the medium that binds the pigment. Oil paints are slow-drying and allow the artist to rework and blend colors.
Pastels
Dry drawing materials made of powdered pigment bound by gum into a stick. The pigments in pastels are similar to those used in oil paints.
Plein-air
A French term that means “in the open air.” It refers to paintings done outside, rather than indoors. Plein-air was especially common with Impressionists, who were interested in the influence of natural light on color.
Taboret
A low, drawered cart with wheels that can support an easel.
Tripod
An easel that is supported on three adjustable legs.
Watercolors
Paints whose pigments are mixed with a water-soluble binding agent, such as gum arabic. Watercolors are available in tubes or in dry-block pans.
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