New easel

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 New Easel

 

 

 

With pícture (front)

 

 

 

With picture (back)

 

 

 

 

Without picture (front)

 

 

 

This new easel has just arrived, ordered over a month ago from China. 

It's a little heavier than I'd imagined and had rather cheapo fittings. It didn't cost much. But it's designed with an intelligent simplicity with little that can break. And should anything break, it will be easy to fix.

 It might be better than my current setup, in which I prop my picture up against my paintbox. It might allow me to work standing up, something I miss.

Picture: Vargem Pequena, view, oil on card, 26 x 28 cm

Paint box / tray easel

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Paint box / tray easel with cord, closed

 

 

 

 

 

The space here for paint, wiping tissues, brushes, and mixing colours is very limited. The cord cuts a little. 

 

 

 

 

 The advantage of this box is that, supposedly it makes it easier to walk around and paint. It isn't necessary to set up an easel. And one can work in smaller spaces.

 

 But there are various inconveniences too, because there is so little space for mixing and  resting brushes. It is not very comfortable to use.  With a belt the box's weight would be taken by the user's waist.

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A white building

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Canasvieiras, a white building, oil on card, 17 x 19 cm - unavailable

It is difficult for the camera to captute the strong pinks and greens at the same time.

I'm painting without linseed oil. It's less fluent. Also  less economical. I'll try to use some oil next time, though I fear it will make a mess.

 I'm painting with the materials a try which is hung round my neck. It is limiting. It makes it harder to use a range of colours on a palette. But maybe with these limits comes  a deeper exploration of the possibilities withing these limits.

There is a problem with passers-by watching or talking. It makes it much harder to work.

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Guarda do Embaú

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 Guarda do Embaú, red boat, oil on card, 17.5 x 18 cm - available

Guarda do Embaú, a view, oil on card,  17 x 18.5 cm   SOLD

Here are two simple paintings from Guarda do Embaú.

 They were painted on the new easel: the new easel  doesn't provide the use of a surface to mix paints on. And, being less stable, it encourages the making of larger pictures because it is less easy to paint delicately using it. So now I mix the colours up in advance and apply them in broader areas, instead of mixing things up as I go along then apply them systematically.

In such ways do the  limitations of an artist's equipment serve to alter his artistic style- serendipitously so in my case, as I had been seeking a way to open and brighten the pictures  à la Fauvist Braque for some time.

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A settlement near Palhoça; new easel

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A settlement near Palhoça, oil on card, 16 x 18 cm   AVAILABLE

This was painted using the new easel- it's less sturdy than the old one, and it is a disadvantage not being able to lay the tubes of paint out so easily. It toppled over once, and the wind caught the picture.

I think I can deal with such challenges but I might have to find a way of painting more simply than previously, using fewer different colours or perhaps pre-selecting them prior to working.

Easel- at times wobbly

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New easel

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I've been using a half width French easel by Mabef for some time. 

Mabef easel

It's developed quite a few problems having broken in many parts. I've had to replace straps, closing latch and a leg that split. Part of the support for pictures has snapped off and part of the tray broke. Mabef should be ashamed of themselves for using cheapo fittings and materials and putting such shoddily made easels on the market.

In addition it was rather heavy, meaning that walking more than a few miles with it became tiring.

This is its replacement: a plastic workman's DIY box fixed onto a lightweight photographers easel. It's considerably lighter:

Home made easel

But there are disadvantages: it lacks the drawer of the French easel, which was useful to use as a support for a palette. Also, it holds the painting surface less firmly, so that when you are painting there is a slight spring from the support. I will have to adapt my technique to accommodate this.

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