Plein Air Painting Links

by Barry John Raybould, artist and author of Virtual Art Academy® painting courses

If you want to travel light when painting, a pochade box is one option. Another option is a lightweight easel. Here are a number of pochade boxes and easel setups that you may want to look at. My main considerations are weight, the size of the palette, and how high you can get your painting. Ease of setup is also important since the main advantage of these boxes is convenience. Another important consideration is how you can carry your oil, acrylic, or watercolor paints, paintbrushes, panels, and palette, not to mention the other supplies you need.

Comparison Chart

When you want to paint “plein air” or outdoors, your first obstacle is to choose from countless different painting setups so that you are not carrying back-breaking equipment. Over the years I have purchased many different easels and pochade combinations, and I have listed the best of them in the table below.

Note: Since writing this article I have discovered the Monarch Ultra-Portable Easel. Although I have not used one yet, in my experience of building and buying pochade boxes, this is the optimal design approach for a pochade box (read Marc’s rationale for design). The resulting system is much lighter if you keep the panel storage and paint tube storage system separate from the easel. Better still, carry paint on your palette and not in tubes. The convenience of the other pochade design ideas is fine, but remember that the overriding goal of a pochade box system is light weight, not convenience.

	Sun Eden Easel	Sun Eden, Mastesson & Stanrite Combination	Sun Eden & Stanrite Combination	Sun Eden with Bogen Tripod	Art Essentials 10×12in Pochade Box	Open Box M 11×14in Panel/Palette Carrier (without the storage box)	9×12in Pochade (unknown East Coast supplier)
Ease of setup	Need to attach palette tray and palette box using slightly awkward clips.	Need to attach Mastesson Palette with bungee cord. Need to attach storage box to give system rigidity using slightly awkward clips.	Need to attach palette tray and palette box using slightly awkward clips.	Need to attach palette tray and palette box using slightly awkward clips.	Easy setup.  Two nicely designed pressure knobs with easy to grip handles	A little awkward to set up since you have to use six wing nuts and thumb screws to open the lid..	Just open the lid and you are ready to go. However I had to modify the original hinge with a new fitting to provide flexible angle. The modification was not perfect since the new hinge gets loose after some use and needs a screwdriver to tighten it.
Panel storage	With this setup you use a separate lightweight panel storage box from Raymar. The storage box is light but has some design flaws. (see my review of storage boxes).	With this setup you use a separate lightweight panel storage box from Raymar. The storage box is light but has some design flaws. (see my review of storage boxes).	With this setup you use a separate lightweight panel storage box from Raymar. The storage box is light but has some design flaws. (see my review of storage boxes).	With this setup you use a separate lightweight panel storage box from Raymar. The storage box is light but has some design flaws. (see my review of storage boxes).	Two 8×10in (20×25cm) 9×11in (23×28cm) or 9×12in (23×30cm) panels are built into the pochade box. The only problem is that the slots are only one-eighth inch thick and if you use impasto paint, you can run into problems since there is not enough clearance between the two panels..	There is no built-in panel storage with this box unless you carry the separate heavy wooden storage box which they sell with the pochade as a separate item. I do not recommend getting this storage box if your goal is lightweight since it adds too much weight for hiking. The separate storage box is handy though if you are not planning to carry it far. I have managed to modify the panel support part of this pochade to include two 8×10in (20×25cm) or four 6×8in (15×20cm) panels. This requires some carpentry since you need to do this yourself with strips of wood and brass rods.	Two 9×12in (23×30cm) slots are built into the lid. However the original slots were too tight and only suitable for 8 and 7/8in panels. I modified the rear slot to carry a 8×10in (20×25cm) and opened up the front slot for one 9×12in (23×30cm) panel. It was a lot of work though to make these fixes.
Panel height	You can get the panel much higher than a pochade and still keep the palette low down to save your arm tiring. You cannot raise te panel as high as with a Stanrite easel.	You can get the panel as high as you would want using the Stanrite easel..	You can get the panel as high as you would want using the Stanrite easel.	You can get the panel as high as you would want using the tripod.	The design of this pochade allows you to position the panel up to 10in (25cm) above the palette -  lowers your arm position.	You can only raise the panel up to 3 or 4in (7 to 10cm) above the palette. This forces you into a high arm position while painting.	You can only raise the panel approximately 1in (2cm) above the palette. This forces you into a high arm position while painting.
Box for palette, extra brushes, medium & paint	You need to attach a separate plastic storage box to the easel to act as a tray for palette knives and other accessories. The attachment clips are awkward to use and tend to break after a long period of use - the rivets come loose. It is best to carry a spare replacement nut and bolt if the rivets break, but you will need to drill the rivet out if that does happen.	You need to attach a separate plastic storage box to the easel to act as a tray for palette knives and other accessories. The attachment clips are awkward to use and tend to break after a long period of use - the rivets come loose. It is best to carry a spare replacement nut and bolt if the rivets break, but you will need to drill the rivet out if that does happen.	You need to attach a separate plastic storage box to the easel to act as a tray for palette knives and other accessories. The attachment clips are awkward to use and tend to break after a long period of use - the rivets come loose. It is best to carry a spare replacement nut and bolt if the rivets break, but you will need to drill the rivet out if that does happen.	You need to attach a separate plastic storage box to the easel to act as a tray for palette knives and other accessories. The attachment clips are awkward to use and tend to break after a long period of use - the rivets come loose. It is best to carry a spare replacement nut and bolt if the rivets break, but you will need to drill the rivet out if that does happen.	You need to carry and attach a separate metal tray to hold your palette knives and other accessories. The metal tray with the system attaches easily by hooking over the edge of the palette tray.	You need to carry and attach a separate wooden tray to hold your palette knives and other accessories.  This wooden tray requires two more thumb screws.	If you slide the palette to the left the box is accessible so you can get to your palette knives.
Storing wet paint	Need to carry separate drying box with removable palette.	Easy (includes airtight seal on palette to keep paint wet).	Need to carry separate drying box with removable palette.	Need to carry separate drying box with removable palette.	Store the wet paint in the pochade box and protect by closing the lid.	Store the wet paint in the pochade box and protect by closing the lid.	Store the wet paint in the pochade box  and protect by closing the lid.
Palette size	12×16in (30×40cm) or extendable to 16×24"	12×16in (30×40cm)	12×16in (30×40cm) or extendable to 16×24"	12×16in (30×40cm) or extendable to 16×24"	10×12in (25×30cm)	11×14in (28×36cm)	9×12in (23×30cm)
Weight	6 pounds	6 pounds 15 ounces	7 pounds 9 ounces	10 pounds 3 ounces	11 pounds	9 pounds 10 ounces	7 pounds 12 ounces
Summary	The absolute lightest weight system. Can carry two paintings up to 12×16in. With this system you can easily clamp a larger 16"x24" palette to the Sun Eden palette tray to give you a really nice large mixing area, for not much extra weight. The only disadvantage compared to the Sun Eden & Stanrite combination is that you cannot get the painting at eye level and you cannot tilt your panel downwards to shade it from the sun.	Best lightweight air travel system with head height painting support. Can carry two paintings up to 12×16in. This system also includes a tray which you can fill with water to keep paint wet. This saves you the weight of carrying paint tubes with you since you can put a lot of paint on your palette without the problem of it drying out.	Another good lightweight air travel system with head height painting support. Can carry two paintings up to 12×16in. With this system you can easily clamp a larger 16"x24" palette to the Sun Eden palette tray to give you a really nice large mixing area, for not much extra weight.	Good option for large palette, low weight, high painting support and low arm position for mixing. Still heavy though, and only carries two 8"x10" panels.	Easier to setup than the Open Box M, and better painting height, but heavier.	Built to last with good materials. Slightly less easy to use than the Art Essentials box.	Best option for fast setup and compact storage (if you are prepared to modify the box). The only problem is I’m not sure if it is still made.
	Sun Eden Easel	Sun Eden, Mastesson & Stanrite Combination	Sun Eden & Stanrite Combination	Sun Eden with Bogen Tripod	Art Essentials 10×12in Pochade Box	Open Box M 11×14in Pochade Box (without the storage box)	9×12in Pochade (unknown East Coast supplier)

Pochade box details

You can read more details of each system. The important thing to note is that all of the systems require a different combination of accessories. Some systems require a tripod as well as a panel support. Other systems just need an easel that serves both functions.  Since the manufacturers do not add all the weight of the accessories into their specifications, the weight of the base system is misleading by the time you add everything up. This table will help you make a better decision on weight since everything you need is included in the weight totals. I’ve used all of these combinations in my search to make my load easier!

• Sun Eden Easel
• Art Essentials 10×12 inch Pochade Box
• East Coast 9×12 inch Pochade Box
• Open Box M 11×14in Panel/Palette Carrier (without the storage box)

If you know of any other good combinations for travelling light, please let us know.