Selecting Your Art Easel - written by Clyde Lee Dennis

If you're an artist along with your palette and brush your easel is the most important equipment you have. It could be considered the very backbone of the painting process.

The easel may seem trivial in that it only holds the canvas, however no artist starts without one, unless of course the work that is being done on a medium other than canvas. Something like a wall or mural.

An easel is the apparatus that you'll find in the studio of every artist and is used to display or hold up the canvas.

It works by providing a tripod that can be manipulated to obtain a virtually any desired angle when painting. For example, if you choice of angle is the watercolor angle, which is 35�, then the easel can be adjusted to that exact angle.

Just like most other products of this nature easel prices vary greatly. You'll want to choose the of that best fits the type and style of art you paint. You should choose your easel based on it's ability to suit your own needs and nothing else.

The easel you select should be sturdy enough to endure the wear and tear of fairly constant use. Brass, steel, or aluminum easels are recommended. Wood easels are the classic standards, however after a short time of constant use wooden easels tend to show signs of aging and tear.

Table top easels are small, compact, foldable, and easily used virtually anywhere. However it's lack of bulk in size unfortunately means it's not an easel that can be counted on for long term stability. Also if you enjoy standing up you'll probably find the table top easel more than a little inconvenient for ongoing daily use.

Studio easels are generally the choice of professional artists. They are big and are able to accommodate a much larger canvas. They are floor standing fixtures that are known for having great stability and durability. You should be aware though, they are not portable. These easels are pricey, and heavy. But if you are dead set on painting professionally or on working on large canvasses, this is the easel for you.

Because it will be such a constant fixture in your daily life as an artist selecting the proper easel is a very important step in enjoying painting as a job or as a hobby. Choosing the wrong one will inconvenience you or and make you feel uncomfortable while you work. A condition that is clearly detrimental to creating your art.

Time invested initially selecting your easel pays off handsomely in your future as an artist.