Whether you paint in a studio, a kitchen, in a shed or out in a field, a sturdy easel is a painter’s best friend. Easels come in different shapes and sizes so that every kind of painter has their needs catered for. When choosing an easel, it’s important to think carefully about the kind of painter you are and the requirements that are most important to you.
What Do You Need From Your Easel?
Perhaps you work on a large scale, and so you need your easel to be sturdy and heavy so that it stays put – the largest and most solid easels are H-Frame, with a broad square base. Or maybe you like to alternate between sitting and standing positions when painting, and so it’s important that the height can be adjusted easily – Crank Handle Easels will easily raise or lower the level of your easel’s working height. Perhaps you work at a table and need something that will fold up conveniently for storage after work – our Table Easels fold into a neat box and many also offer storage space for paints and brushes. If you will be working with very fluid watercolour and need an easel that can tilt to a horizontal position to prevent spills and drips, there are specially designed Watercolour Easels that can do just that. Think carefully about how you work as this will make it easier to choose the easel for you.
M/06 Mabef Roma Studio Easel
Jackson’s Watercolour Easel
Albrecht Studio Easel (no longer available)
Studio H-Frame Easels
Heavy, beech or elm wood easels, perfect for indoor use, great for painting on a large scale.
These H shaped easels rely on a central wooden column that the canvas supports are fixed on to. These easels have a square base, with the H-Frame fixed to the front of the base and an angled support joined to the back of the base. This allows you to adjust the angle of the easel without compromising its stability. These easels are heavier than the radial easels, but they are sturdier and the range of sizes of painting supports it can hold is greater. Some H-Frame Easels such as the Jackson’s Medium H-Frame Studio Easel, Mabef Roma, Roma Grande and Milano have a shelf or drawer built underneath the lower canvas support which offers very practical storage space, for the materials you like to keep close to hand such as favourite colours, brushes and rags. For those of you who want the stability of an H-Frame Easel but know that you will need to move the easel frequently, you might wish to consider one with wheels, such as the Mabef Roma. When the easel is where you want it to be simply screw the bolts down and these will secure the easel in its position. For artists who struggle to adjust canvas ledges the Roma Grande has a very easy to use low pressure crank handle. Watercolour H-Frame Easels will tilt to a horizontal position so you can work just as you would on a table – this can be really useful for watercolourists who need to ensure that their work will not run. These easels will also tilt forward – a feature which often appeals to pastel artists who want to ensure dust falls away from work in progress.
Studio A-Frame Easels
Easy to store, best for medium to large supports, lighter than H-Frames
The main structure of an A-Frame Easel is triangular – 3 pieces of wood form a triangle, 2 at the front and one at the back. A central canvas support runs between the 2 front legs and holds the top and bottom canvas ledges. On cheaper A-Frame Easels this column is fixed to the angle of the 2 front legs; on more expensive easels it can be adjusted to be at a more vertical angle. A-Frame Easels cannot be adjusted for horizontal ‘table style’ working.
A- Frames are the second sturdiest design of indoor easel. It’s easy to fold them flat from the hinge at the top of the easel which makes them easy to stack in the corner of a room. They are a little lighter than H-Frames which suits those who will need to move it around frequently. A-Frames cannot adjust to horizontal angles for watercolourists but some have the ability to tilt forward for soft pastel work.
Studio Radial and Donkey Easels
Best for Life Drawing Classes
The slender build of the Jackson’s Radial Easel which stands on 3 short legs at the base of the construction is perfectly suited to life drawing and other observational work, as it is easy to position in front of a subject and does not take up a lot of space. For those who prefer to work sitting down, the Jackson’s Donkey Easel has a seat on which to perch and a support for your drawing board at one end, and a handy drawer for your pencils at the other.
Jackson’s Large Radial Easel
Jackson’s Donkey Easel
Table Easels
Table Easels are perfect for artists that like to work relatively small scale, like to work sitting down, or have limited space. Most except the Pochade Boxes are designed for indoor use, although they can all be used on a table out of doors. Tripod Table Easels look like mini A-Frames and are available in wood or aluminium. They fold into a conveniently compact size and are adequate for light work, but tend not to offer as much stability as an H-Frame Table Easel. Some H-Frames such as the Jackson’s Wentworth Box Easel have a drawer at the bottom – particularly useful if you’re going to carry yours around a lot and need everything in one place. They also have telescopic upper and lower canvas supports which accommodate a wider range of canvas sizes (up to 85 cm).
The Jackson’s Academy Small and Large Box Easels use the lid of the box as the canvas support, which can be positioned to your desired working angle. This offers a really sturdy and ergonomic solution to painting indoors while occupying minimal space.
Jackson’s Wentworth Box Easel
Jackson’s Tripod Table Easel
French Style Box Easel
Field Easels
Field Easels are designed for outdoor painting, and are available in wood or aluminium. They are smaller and lighter than studio easels, and fold into a neat bundle for ease of carrying. Most field easels have telescopic legs which can be extended to heights for both sitting and standing positions. Field Easels would also be great for artists working indoors with limited space. Both our Aluminium Sketching Easels have very high customer ratings and are sturdy and reliable; the tilting one allows you to work on your painting horizontally should you wish to avoid paint dripping down the composition as you work. French Style Box Easels are another clever design for outdoor painters – a Field Easel which has a box incorporated into the design which can hold paints, a palette and brushes. Box Easels are heavier and a little more cumbersome to carry than field easels but they do minimise the number of extra bags you need to carry on your painting trip.
The Pochade Box is well suited for use out of doors. It appears from the outside as if it were a regular painter’s travel case but inside the lid is a board that can be folded out at an upright angle once the lid is fully open. Painting panels can be fixed to this board using the clips attached to it. In the box there is enough storage space for your paints, brushes and mediums. The lid that keeps your tubes of paints in the box also has some holes which you can hold your brushes in for ease of accessibility. A tripod is also available for the Pochade which means that you can set up and paint anywhere.
The Quick Guide to Easels
| H-Frame | A-Frame | Radial | Donkey | Table | Sketching | Box | Pochade | |
| Oil/Acrylic | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Watercolour (tilts to horizontal) | Some | ✔ | ✔ | Some | ||||
| Pastel (tilts forward) | ✔ | Some | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |||
| Drawing | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Outdoor | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Updated 31st December, 2024
Further Reading
Jackson’s Medium H-Frame Studio Easel Review
Plein Air Oil Painting Set Ups: Pochade and French-style Box Easels
How to Resolve a Landscape Painting Composition
Shop Easels on jacksonsart.com
21 thoughts on “The Ultimate Easel Guide”
Where are the Jacksons easels made ?
Hi Susan,
They are made in Asia using European FSC certified wood.
Many thanks
Lisa
Hallo Lisa….a complete novice to all
this…I wish to display a framed picture on
a free standing easel in the corner of a
room….the outer dimensions of the frame
are 54cm wide, 74 cm high and 4.5 cm
frme thickness.It all weighs 2.75 kilos. I
imagine that a three legged one, with the
back leg right in the corner might be best,
as space is at a premium,……but could
you advise/suggest what may be good.
I am not a painter, and will never use it for
painting.
regards…John
hi John,
I think you’re right, an A-frame easel sounds like a good solution. The Mabef one has a ledge that is 4.5cm deep so could hold your picture securely
https://www.jacksonsart.com/mabef-m13-sienna-studio-easel
Many thanks
Lisa
Hi Lisa any idea where to find
instructions for the A frame easel?
Hello,
Do you mean assembly instructions? Which A frame are you referring to? If you can tell me which brand I can find out.
Many thanks
Lisa
Hello,
I’m just wondering if there is any
assembly instructions for the Jackson
easel A frame
Thank you
Chloe
Hi Chloe,
We’re currently working on improving the instructions for this easel, apologies for the delay.
Best wishes
Lisa
Hi, I’ve been given a Jackson A frame easel
and have no idea how it should be
assembled. Help, please.
Hi Chris,
We are working on better instructions for this easel as we’re aware it’s not immediately clear how to assemble it, I’m sorry about this.
Customer services at Jackson’s have informed me of the following: The coils go inside the U shaped piece of wood, surrounding the screws within. Then that hold piece holds the T-shape canvas holder from the back. The loose metal plate goes on the piece that holds the T-shape canvas holder at the top.
I hope this might help you, do let me know if you require further assistance.
Best wishes
Lisa
I would also like to know please, thank
you.
Thanks Khayra, I will find out what the situation is with this. We were delayed because of the lockdown restrictions in the UK, as the team were largely working from home, but we should be able to turn our attention to this now.
Many thanks
Lisa
I paint with oils in a room with a 7 foot
ceiling. I stand when I paint. Any easel
recommendations? I am stumped
Hi Amanda,
In order to advise you, can you tell me roughly what would be the maximum canvas size you would like the easel to hold? And whether you need it to tilt to horizontal?
Many thanks
Lisa
I would like to attach a palette to an H
frame easel. Can you tell me which
easels you can do this on please.
Hi Tessa,
Thanks for your message.
The Halley easel has a palette built into it – https://www.jacksonsart.com/richeson-halley-easel
As does this Richeson easel: https://www.jacksonsart.com/richeson-classic-santa-fe-ii-easel
This Jackson’s watercolour easel has a platform on to which you could put your palette (although it might be a bit low) – https://www.jacksonsart.com/jackson-s-watercolour-easel
Alternatively the following easels have drawers in built, you could easily pull the drawer out and rest a lightweight palette on top:
https://www.jacksonsart.com/cappelletto-cs-300-beechwood-studio-easel-with-crank
https://www.jacksonsart.com/mabef-m04-roma-grande-studio-easel
Hope this helps!
Many thanks
Lisa
Hi Tessa, I am interested in an H frame easel
preferably with wheels. Does the Mabef M06
have the same problem identified by your
reviewer of the Jacksons H frame ie when
raising the support horizontal the vertical
bar is also raised, which means it hits the
ceiling. She said this means she has to paint
sitting down. This would not suit me! Though
in all other respects the Jackson easel
sounds ideal.
Also what is the delivery charge for these
easels?
Thanks
Hi Benedicte,
Thanks for your comment. Yes, the lower canvas support on the M/06 is attached to a central bar. At it’s highest the easel is 375cm or 147.5 in. The piece that holds the canvas in place on the upper edge movely independently of the central vertical bar.
Delivery charges depend on your location, if you add the easel to your basket and go to checkout, a postage fee will be quoted at checkout before you need to enter payment details.
Hope this helps…
Best wishes
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
I am interested in an H frame easel.
Can you tell me, I needed the bottom canvas shelf to be around 100cm from the ground (to stand up) how high would that make the central mast? (my ceilings are 220cm) Thank you!
Hi Laura,
My apologies for the delay in replying. The Mabef M/10 easel has a central mast of 140cm, so a canvas ledge height of 100cm will not allow for the easel to fit in your room. I have known artists to saw their central masts down so that the easel can fit in their room! But of course we cannot reccommend doing this, and if any issues arise as a result of taking a saw to the central mast we would not be able to offer any exchange or refund.
Sorry I cannot be of more help!!
Many thanks
Lisa
It’s useful to go for a watercolor easel with
palette trays and brush holders to provide
you with a seamless painting session.
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