Painting Easels
Painting Easels. What exactly are they, where do they originate, and what are they used for? If you found this website you are probably more interested in buying one than a history lesson, but we felt we should give you a little background anyway. The Painting Easel first came to prominence in the Age of Enlightenment, in the bright abundant cities of Florence and Rome that were flourishing during the Renaissance. Early painters found that the easel, which is essentially an upright canvas, made life a whole lot easier for the painter, who would previously have been painting their masterpieces on their hands and knees. Even pre-schoolers wouldn’t stand for that these days!
Painting Easels come in all shapes and forms, and can be found in wood, steel, aluminium and any of the main furniture components. The reason that easels have become so popular, or became popular in the first place, is their ease of use. By remaining upright the painter has a much clearer view of the painting. From a more practical perspective, using an upright easel helps to avoid a dust build-up on paintings, which can be quite a frustration when you are painting a masterpiece for the emperor’s wedding!
As mentioned above, the painting easels come in a variety of forms. The most basic, and most popular, is the table-top easel, which, as you may have guessed, sits upon a table! These are extremely popular among amateur painters who paint at home and realise that space is a premium.
At the other end of the scale is the studio easel. These are the easels you often see on television, where painting classes are being conducted. These easels are often as tall as you and can take up quite a bit of floor space. They are heavy and not easily moved, so while they may be that bit more stable, they are also an absolute pain to drag around.
That brings us to the French painting easel, which are the ultimate in functionality chic. Resembling a sketch box, the painting easel is like the iPad for painters, it can be carried around, has everything you need, the carry canvas and are foldable making them my own personal favourite.
Another great portable easel are the picture easels. Again, these are extremely lightweight, possibly even more so than the french, and are very often used by outdoor painters.
It is not my place to recommend a particular easel, as to do so I would need to understand your needs. Do some research, see what suits you best, and start a process that will save you a whole lot of struggle!