As well as being enjoyable, painting outside can do great things for your technique but you need to choose what to include in your plein air set up. We’ve put together two recommended lists of tools and materials; one for oil painters who want to work sitting down and the other for those wanting to work standing up, along with explanations of why you’d choose each item.
Carrying French Box Easel plein air set up
Pochade and French-Style Box Easels for Plein Air Painting
Contents
Contents
Pochade Painting Box Plein Air Set Up Diagram and Key
French Box Easel Plein Air Set Up Diagram and Key
Tools to use for Plein Air:
Portable Studio Equipment for Plein Air
Oil Painting Materials and Tools
Small Sketching Kit for working out Compositions
French Box Style Easel set up packed
Choosing a Pochade or French Box Easel Plein Air Set Up
When choosing your plein air set up the first thing to consider is whether you want to paint standing up or sitting down. If you want to stand up it’s worth going for a French Style Box Easel or a field easel with a pochade box. These are adjustable easels that mean you can make sure your canvas is at the right height and level on uneven ground.
If you want to sit down either on a bench, or using a wall or tree to support your back a lap or table pochade box that has an in-built easel is worth considering.
Both options have space to transport your painting materials and a place to put your surface while working on it outside.
Another key thing is to consider is what surface you want to use. Whether it’s a stretched canvas or a panel, you’ll need to think about how to take the wet ones home. Panels are less bulky but having multiple wet ones can be tricky to transport. Similarly, with stretched canvases, you’ll need to make sure they’re safe from denting and from rubbing against each other.
Our diagrams below show two setups one for standing and oil painting and one for sitting down. Both are designed to be comprehensive lists while keeping weight and excess materials to a minimum. It’s easy to add to a plein air set up so starting off with fewer materials and then adding your personal essentials once you know how much you are prepared to carry is a good idea.
Pochade painting set up packed up
Pochade Painting Box Plein Air Set Up:
- 1. Primed Panel
- 2. Palette
- 3. Selection of Small Oil Paint Tubes
- 4. Brush Case & Brush Set
- 5. View Finder
- 6. Sketching Set
- 7. Rags
- 8. Oil Painting Medium
- 9. Artist Double Dipper with Lids
- 10. Brush Washer
- 11. Wet Panel Carrying Box
- 12. Solvent
- 13. Fast Drying Medium
- 14. S Hooks
- 15. Small Sketchbook
- 16. Masking Tape
- 17. Tote Bag
French Box Easel Plein Air Set Up:
- 1. Umbrella
- 2. Umbrella Clamp
- 3. Stretched Canvas
- 4. French Box Easel
- 5. Brush Set
- 6. Brush Case
- 7. Artist Double Dipper with Lids
- 8. Palette
- 9. Selection of Small Oil Paint Tubes
- 10. Oil Painting Medium
- 11. Small Sketching Kit
- 12. S Hooks
- 13. Rags
- 14. Brush Washer
- 15. Plein Air Backpack
Selection of oil paint tubes housed in the inner drawer of the French box easel
Oil Painting Materials and Tools for Plein Air
When you have to carry all your paints it’s worth selecting small tubes so you have access to the greatest range of colours for their weight, consider 40 ml or smaller — this post has suggestions of which to choose.
You want to be able to mix the broadest range with as few a tubes as possible so selecting a warm and cold of each primary and a white would be a natural option.
I selected my colour choices from our 40 ml professional oil paint tubes as they’re compact and have a high pigment load meaning they last a long time and consistently produce strong colours.
Titanium White (safflower oil)
After the basic colours, I think it’s worth adding a few that I’m particularly attached to, and know I’ll use:
Yellow Ochre
I love the soft blue-greys you can get when using small amounts of this in sky mixes – it was and is a very popular mix for St Ives painters.
Burnt Sienna
This gives more heat when mixing brown shades than the traditional addition of Burnt Umber but you then have to find an alternative to make blacks, rather than the typical ultramarine/ burnt umber mix.
Emerald Green
Loved by the Impressionists, this is my cheat green. It’s gorgeous when used alone and easily adjusted to create more nuanced colours. It also produces a lovely black when mixed with magenta solving the addition of burnt sienna rather than burnt umber.
It’s worth considering making up some of your regularly used mixes, such as a sky colour that you always create, and filling an empty tube with it to bring with you. You can read more about filling your own tubes here.
Jackson’s Black Hog Brushes Set of 7 in the easel drawer
Set of Brushes
Select a small range of brushes that suit your style and mark making. I go for a mix of flats, filberts and rounds so I have a good variety of options. Jackson’s Black Hog Brushes Set of 7 comes with a mixture of these in different sizes and the hair is durable while having a great balance of stiffness and spring.
Consider whether you might paint quicker plein air than in the studio and if so you might like a different stiffness of brush than you’d normally use.
You can view all our brush sets suitable for oil painting here.
Palette Knife
While I left it out of set ups, it’s a good idea to bring along at least one palette knife for mixing colours. This is because they’re easy to wipe clean quickly and you can keep your brushes just for painting. Our rubber handled palette knives are comfortable to hold and have a short crank on them.
Jackson’s Brush Case for Long Handle Brushes set up in easel mode to make it easier to grab brushes while working
Brush Case
A brush case may seem like an extra, however, I think protecting your brushes while moving about is a sensible idea.
The hardback case I used with the French box easel can be set up to make it easier to grab brushes and keep wet ones out of your way. It will fit in a box easel or pochade box but takes up some room, luckily it’s hardback so perfectly safe to throw it in a bag.
Brush set in 7 oz Canvas Brush Roll 22.5 x 12 in for protection in transport on top of a wet panel carrier
The canvas brush roll takes up barely any room (useful for a pochard set up) and has a traditional feel. It is slightly shorter in length though, meaning you might need to check the length of your brushes.
Airtight Brush Washer attached to the French Box Easel with an S hook
Brush Washer / Solvent Pot
Bring something to clean your brushes in. You can use a jam jar with a secure lid as a solvent pot, or a lighter weight version that can actually hang within easy reach is our brush washer. It also has a perforated floor that sediment sinks through leaving you with cleaner solvent for longer.
As both options are airtight, you can fill them up with the right amount of solvent before you head out and bring your dirty solvent back with you.
For the pochade set up I selected two types of solvent in small bottles, refined turpentine and low odour solvent
Solvent
Most solvents are available in 60 ml bottles that can be fitted into some pochade boxes and are fairly light.
You could also use a bigger bottle or can of solvent and pre-fill up a dipper or small airtight pot.
Fast drying medium small bottle in the drawer, these bottles are too large to fit in the drawer when it’s closed so you’ll need to carry them separately or decant them
Oil Painting Medium
Similarly to small solvent jars, mediums are also available in 60 ml. Using a fast drying medium can be really helpful when trying to get a painting done quickly so is a good option for painting plein air.
Jackson’s Fast Drying Gloss Medium
If you’d prefer a different option, you can view our other oil mediums here.
Double artist dipper on palette, which has been placed on the pulled out drawer on the French box easel (being used like a table)
Artist Double Dipper with Lids
Artist Dipper & Lid Double are useful for pre-decanting mediums and solvents into before you go as well as clipping onto your palette for ease of use while painting.
You could also use individual dippers if you only wanted to decant one solvent or medium, you can view all our options here.
Rags
Rags are essential for cleaning brushes, wiping up mess and for adjusting work.
Pochade painting box, starting to set up
Painter’s Tape / Masking Tape
Painters tape or masking tape is invaluable in a plein air set up for both creating straight lines or masking off areas while painting, and for being used to tape down canvases or panels in windy conditions, as well as to attach things more securely.
Jackson’s Pochade Painting Box set up
Palette
For both set ups shown, I would use the inbuilt palettes that come with the pochade box and the French style box easel but many artists prefer tear off palettes as they avoid the hassle of a wet palette and you can dispose of them as soon as you’re finished with them.
You can view the range of tear-off palettes we have available here.
Canvas, Panels and Boards for Plein Air
Jackson’s Pochade box has room for two wet panels sized 25 x 30 cm or 10 x 14 in
Primed Panel or Board
Ready primed panels are a good stiff substrate for painting plein air. Compatible with both a pochade set up and a French box easel, you can take several with you without them taking up much room.
I’d recommend handmade linen panels.
The wet panel carrier mentioned later can carry between two and four panels sized 9 in x 12 in and 8 in x 10 in.
The Jackson’s Pochade box can carry two wet 25 x 30 cm panels or two 10 x 14 in panels.
Stretched Canvas
Small to medium sized stretched canvases can easily be used outdoors and our French box easel can be adjusted for canvases between heights of 8.8 cm and 87.2 cm. If you’re using a pochade box be sure to check your canvas will fit.
Think about how you’ll get the wet ones back, lots of canvas carriers require you to have pairs of equally sized canvases for them to work properly, and most canvas carriers take up to 70 cm canvases.
Often working smaller and quickly can be fun while outside, so a small scale could be good option.
You can view all our ready primed stretched canvases that are 70 cm or smaller here.
Portable Studio Equipment for Plein Air
Jackson’s French Style Box Easel set up
French Style Box Easel
A French box easel is a neat tool that can be adjusted on uneven ground, allows you to work with canvases with a height anywhere between 8.8 cm or 87 cm and has an inbuilt drawer that can be used as table while working, as well as easily holding all your materials.
All of them fold up, clips, a handle and shoulder strap to make them easy to take with you, wherever you go.
Jackson’s French Style Box Easel
If you wanted to stand up and work plein air you could also use a sketching or field easel with a bag or pochade box to carry your materials in.
Jackson’s Pochade Painting Box set up
Pochade Painting Box
As mentioned earlier a table or lap pochard box is useful if you want to paint sitting down while out and about, often they have a bottom drawer which you can slide out. This creates a place for you to put all your materials and transport them, while the top acts as a wet panel carrier, a palette and an easel all in one.
Nearly all pochade boxes will have shoulder straps and handles to make them easy to carry about.
Jackson’s Pochade Painting Box can carry two wet panels that are 10 x 14 in.
S Hooks used to hang the solvent pot and attach the rags to the French box easel
Hooks
Having a good number of hooks in your kit means you can adjust your set up to your surroundings whether it’s keeping your rag nearby or hanging your solvent at the right height.
Adjusting the umbrella so that there’s no direct sunlight on the painting surface
Umbrella and Clamp
An umbrella (and a clamp to attach it) helps with changing light by keeping the glare of the sun off the work. This means you can set up somewhere where otherwise it’d be hard to gauge colour tone.
Small Sketching Kit for Working out Compositions
Sketching out a composition using Jackson’s Pochade box and a small hardback sketchbook – rather than holding it, I could’ve slotted it in or taped it down
Small Sketchbook
Having a sketchbook to work out a composition quickly before starting work can save you time in the long run. A hardback one will travel better and a small one will neatly fit in your box.
Jackson’s Hardbound Sketchbook 100 gsm 88 sheets A5 Landscape
Another angle of the sketching set up with pencils visible
Drawing Tools
Having a range of hardnesses of pencils for doing compositional sketches and a sharpener will allow you to capture tone quickly. (Without a rubber sometimes you become less precious and quicker as these sketches are just to lead into painting.)
Derwent Sketching Pencil Tin Set of 6 is a succinct range of pencils, with a sharpener included, that’s in a metal tin making it perfect to take round with you.
An alternative to a full pencil set pencils could be a graphite stick for doing simple sketches, it is easy to transport but can make a bag, box or your hands a little mucky.
Simple composition sketching set laid out
Viewfinder / View Catcher
A viewfinder can help you with quickly working out a composition, your values and true colours, making it useful when working fast.
Transporting Materials
Carrying Pochade Painting Box set up
Tote Bag
A good tote bag is useful to carry extra boxes, paint tubes or other essentials.
Carrying French Style Box Easel set up
Plein Air Backpack
A bag or backpack with support is important for you to carry non-painting essentials with you such as water, food, sunscreen, extra clothes and anything else you need. It can also be used to weight down your easel and make it sturdier.
Richeson Sienna Ultimate Plein Air Backpack has room in it for a pochade box, a wet panel carrier and loads of room for anything else you could possibly bring with you.
Jackson’s Adjustable Medium Wooden Canvas Carrier and Canvas Separating Clips
Canvas & Panel Carriers
Canvas carriers are smart ways of getting wet canvases home. It’s worth checking how many canvases one takes and whether they need to be the same size or different sizes (often you need pairs of canvases).
Most take canvases up to a height of 70 cm and with a depth of up to 2.5 cm.
In the picture above I used separating clips to keep two canvases apart but then but them in a bag to make them easier to carry.
Jackson’s Adjustable Medium Wooden Canvas Carrier
Jackson’s Medium Wooden Canvas Carrier
Richeson Wet Panel Box
Wet Panel Carrying Box
Having an extra box to take multiple wet panels back with you is incredibly useful, allowing you to make the most amount of work possible.
The Richeson wet panel box has room for four 9 in x 12 in, 1/8 in thick panels back to back, or two 1/4 in panels. It also has an adapter to let you carry two 8 in x 10 in, 1/8 in panels back to back or one 1/4 in panel.
Richeson Wet Panel Box for 8 x 10 in and 9 x 12 in panels
The Jullian Canvas Carrier for 4 canvases or 8 panels lets you carry a variety of wet substrates.
Richeson Wet Panel box
Suggested Extras
These are practical objects that, along with water, may make a plein air trip more enjoyable and easier.
Rubbish bags
Clamps
Camera
Canvas offcuts for swatches (if you’ll be working on the piece in the studio later).
This is just a recommended list for two possible set ups for oil painting to see all the materials we supply for plein air painting, visit our plein air department here.
Further Reading
Tips for Plein Air Painting in Winter
Lessons Learned From My Outdoor Painting Session – a Plein Air Painting Journal
Plein Air Painter Roy Connelly: Paintings in Situ
Paint in Numbers! Celebrating Plein Air Events
Shop Plein Air on jacksonsart.com
I have been searching without success
for a shopping trolley or similar to
transport my Jackson French box easel
45 cms wide, my chair and sundries.
Perhaps you could design one?
I can’t carry heavy things – and I do
think there is a demand!
Hi Wendy,
That’s a really good idea, I’ll look into it and get back to you. Possibly one of these garden carts might work: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Garden-Carts-Wagons/b?ie=UTF8&node=4224778031 what do you think?
There definitely is a demand, I agree with you. Thank you for bringing it to our attention.
How about a box on wheels that you drag behind you. Much easier
than a push trolley for uneven surfaces… mostly the wheels are too
small.. so a collapsible box trolley with big wheels.. should be easy
enough.
Amazon shopping trolley with attached seat
Hi Wendy
Probably far too late as a suggestion, but if
you haven’t already, take a look at fishing
trollies.
They’re designed to carry bulky equipment
across rough terrain (big wheels etc)
That’s a great suggestion, thanks Chris!
I’m interested in the separating clips for
wet canvases, do the wings fold down? I
used to be able to buy sets of 4 double
pointed pins with a separator To pin
into the corners of wet canvases to join
them face to face, are these still
available?
Hi Dennis, the wings do fold down on the canvas separating clips. Currently, we don’t sell the separator pins but I’ll look into it with the sales team and see if we can find some to add. I’ll let you know if we manage to.
A piece of cork or thin wood with a panel pin.. chop the head off
and you have the perfect separator. Mine are about 6” long with two
pins.. One on each edge, tape face to face and you are away!
Hi I’m thinking about buying a box easle
just want to know if I can carry wet
panels on the box easle?? Thanks
Hi Jim, unfortunately, most box easels don’t have in-built wet panel carriers built in so you’d need to get a carrier separately.
Hi Jim
Yes, some of the French-style box easels
do have such a feature. In some of the
pictures above you will see a pair of brass
rod ends curved up a few cms over the
front, they are designed for this purpose.
Two problems not dealt with:
How do we make ourselves invisible to
passers by – who don’t pass by!
What about a loo!
John
Difficult problems, I’ve yet to find a solution to either. If anyone has any ideas it would be great to hear them?
Hey John,
Maybe you could make a sign saying ‘
artist at work, please be careful, has
been known to bite’, that kind of
thing. It’s done as a joke but people
will get the message. And I reckon
Mother nature will provide for your
needing a loo.
Good suggestion Sam, thanks!
Why oh why is there always a wall at the front of the palette? It
needs to be flat and on top!
And that brolly looks very desirable but, the slightest breeze
and will be unstable.
E
Please could you consider adding a
lightweight metal easel with spiked feet to
your range? This would be more resilient
on breezy days.
PS. People who stop to talk, will
sometimes buy paintings! I always take
some business cards with me.
Thank you for your suggestion, Lesley!
Hey – so many people are using
tripods to support their pochard box
now! What about building in an
attachment plate to the base of the
Jacksons boxes as standard. Uk plein
air artists are growing in numbers –
we want more equipment like our
contemporaries in the USA so come
on Jacksons!
Thank you for this suggestion, Penny!