Hi All,
I thought this month I would share this new easel setup that I’ve come to devise.
First, let me confess… I tend to like working in a functionally cluttered environment. You will (probably) never see a shot of me in a ball gown working in an aesthetically pleasing studio space. It’s most likely because I like having things visible and in reach when I’m working; which segways into why I have such a strange easel setup that will at some point result in a portal opening to a Plane of Eldritch Abominations (my friends).
So I started with a Sante Fe II easel: (You can find the unaltered easel through this link at Jerrys)
that I’ve had for quite a while. It used to have a ledge with these big aluminum brush basins but they got in the way so I took them off. I also lost them instantly but that was always going to happen. Over the years I’ve reconfigured the easel in many different ways culminating in this sorta Frankeneasel that I have now.
I have four studio lights and a fan mounted to the top, on the rail that holds my mahl stick. Recently, I acquired a piece of steel 36”x 48” from etsy…
https://www.etsy.com/listing/526612136/steel-bare-metal-magnet-board-custom-cut?ref=yr_purchases
This was the final piece of the configuration that I’ve been working on for a while. With the steel piece in place (and covered by craft paper because it is rather reflective) I can use various types of magnets to position smaller pieces and also to hold tools close at hand, like palette knives.
I also use smaller neodymium magnets to pin inspiration and reference to the board. It’s actually a lot more useful than I anticipated when I thought about doing it. It’s certainly more functional than the C-clamps that I had been using previously.
Plus, magnets are cool.
The iPad and phone mounts on the side come from https://www.thejoyfactory.com/
And are the sturdiest that I’ve found so far.
I also have some dryer duct affixed to an inline fan that circulates and replaces the air in the room in about half and hour. I can almost never smell the oil when I come into the room to resume painting and Vicki never complains about odor. The one in the link is slightly better than the one I have:
Most of the power on the easel is run through this positionable plug mount:
That’s mostly it.
It will probably keep evolving.
I’ve already lost half the magnets.
(edit: nope I found them ? )
Thanks for sharing, it really inspires me.
I’ve got the exact same easel and have modified mine quite a bit too! Will have to compare notes one day!
It will probably keep evolving.