Blondheim Art Original Landscape Painting

18x24 inches
oil on canvas
silver frame
Purchase HERE

Painters Tip
Choosing Equipment

I don't know about you but I can never get just the right set up in my studio or on location. I am always fiddling around with paint boxes and easels. I have three easels in the studio. Two are simple wooden mast easels, which I use for workshops. The other is a larger easel which runs up and down on a metal rod for adjustment, but has some sort of extension on the back to change the angle of the easel slightly. I don't really like it that much but it is well made, so I will keep it for awhile.

As for plein air, Oy Vey!!!! I have tried every kind of paint box and French Easel over the last 15 years. The French easels would be great if they did not fall apart after a year. I like the way they work and that I can put large canvases on them. Even the half box holds a large canvas. I just wish someone would invent a FE that actually holds together for a few years. If you know of one, please let me know.

My favorite Paint Box is the Judson Plein Air Guerrilla Box. It is excellently made and lasts for years. My current box is at least 5 years old. I have looked at all of the others including the Open Box M system, which is of very high quality. The reason I like the Guerrilla Box is that everything fits in it and I have all of my paints brushes, solvent and paper towels right where I am painting. I don't have to carry extra boxes or bags to hold my stuff in. I can just carry the paint box and tripod and be ready to paint in about a minute.

There is also the aesthetic issue of equipment. I have to like the way something looks in order to paint well on it. I know that sounds crazy but whoever accused me of sanity? I like wood, and well made wood at that. I do not like aluminum or metal easels. They look cheesy. I could never paint on a Soltec easel because it is butt ugly. It's look offends me. Looking at a finely made paint box makes me want to work and to paint. Looking at a heavy wood easel in the studio makes me feel like a painter. I am an equipment snob. I like well made boxes, easels, brushes and good quality paints. I may drive a car with 170,000 miles on it and live in a trailer that is 30 years old, but I have good equipment. It is my job after all.

Here is what I suggest if you are just starting out as a painter. Spend some time researching various easels and boxes before you decide. Talk to lots of other painters about their equipment, what they like and dislike about it. Get brochures from various manufacturers. Go to art forums on the Internet and read what people say about various brands. Think about whether utility and function are more important than the quality or look to you. One of my friends likes a paint box brand that is functional but very cheaply made. I just don't like the way it looks. It looks flimsy to me and it turned over once when we were painting together. It is thin and does not hold any extra equipment, so she must carry lots of stuff in a bag. She doesn't care that it is flimsy. She likes the way it holds the panel and the work space on it better than my better made box. So you see? You must decide what is really important to you. There will be bad and good about each box or easel you look at.