Artists’ Easels
AN EXCITING RANGE OF CHOICES FOR ARTISTS
Make art EASY with an EASEL!
Now is the best time of year to think about buying an easel for painting or drawing – but before you do, artists should give careful consideration to what they need and what each style of easel has to offer.
An easel is a stand designed to display artwork, or to hold and support an artist’s canvas during painting.
It is usually made of wood or metal and ranges in size from small tabletop easels to large professional studio easels.
Which easel to choose depends on your working methods. You should consider the size of the work you will be creating, and also which media you are planning to you use. There are many types of easels, most of which can be set and adjusted to suit working with oils, acrylics, watercolours, and drawing. If you work in many different media, it’s important to choose an easel that is easily adjustable and flexible. You should also consider whether you will use it outdoors or in your studio.
The quality and price of easels can vary. Some brands of easels – such as Jasart – are a good price for commendable quality; particularly for the beginner artist who is not so sure about an expensive first investment. Reeves has also developed a very good range of easels that is more considerate of the artists’ specific needs. They have developed a different easel style at an affordable price that allows greater flexibility of use for the artist, with the Worcestershire easel. Winsor & Newton produce the finest range of easels with their typical consideration to beautifully handcrafted items. Winsor & Newton seasoned beechwood easels have a natural oil finish to protect them and most importantly, have solid metal fittings (this is where many manufacturers compromise).
Studio Easels
Studio easels are meant for use in the artist’s studio with limited need for the easel to be portable. Studio easels are large, floor-standing easels that can accommodate big canvases. Let the size of canvas you’re realistically going to use be your guide to easel size.
Many times, artists compromise and make choices that are less expensive than the studio easel – only to
