how to make a great artists' easel

[MrHankc]

Mark I’m a 73 year old new artist. I’m just learning to draw and my goal is to someday paint in oil. I made this easel per your specs with some slight modifications to accommodate my 24x36 drawing board. Thank you so much. Cost to me here in the Philippines was about $43.

[TheAlternatin]

so happy you do these type of videos for the public. Not many would give this much information for free, but youre creating a greater generation of artists. One step at a time

[beckyg]

I made one, I made one! I followed your instructions and made this easel, and it is AWESOME!! Thank you for sharing this with us :)

[kevinl]

Following Mark's video, I've made this easel too. Because I paint primarily on panels (hardboard or linen covered panels) I substituted two cross supports for the long board + screws to hold my painting surfaces. Instead of wing nuts, I splurged for two nice knurled knobs ($2.50 ea) that thread onto the carriage bolts, which hold the cross supports. I also sprang for four adjustable feet (floors in my house are far from level). Stained it not only looks nice, but was cheap to make (even with some slightly nicer wood), has a much smaller footprint than my plein air (tripod) setup. It does have some movement (jiggling) when painting vigorously, but otherwise I have no complaints whatsoever. Much gratitude to Mark for putting this video, with such clear directions, up.

[djangolad]

Bless you man! You're one of the most generous dudes on YT!

[burntt]

2 2x2-8’
1 2x4-8’
1 ⅝ x4-8’ or something close to ⅝ thick
Could also get more than 1 for multiple paintings so it’s easier to work on others while others dry)(if that’s your style)

1lb box of 2-½” deck screws
1” drywall screws
2 2 ½ carriage bolts. (I’ve used 5/16” width and one size larger. Both worked great)
2 Large washers that match bolt sizes
2 Wing nuts - matching bolts

[kennybellew]

I like this design because it can be used in a tight space, such as a corner. Nice work.

[pattiramsey]

I can't thank you enough for this video. You are an excellent teacher, carefully covering each step and emphasizing what is most important. I built this today and am really pleased with it.

[barbaraburgdorff]

You have done such a wonderful job of explaining how to build this easel. I am a great-grandmother and am ready to tackle this project (with the help of Home Depot cutting the boards for me! I can do the sanding, drilling and painting on my own.). Thank you so much for sharing your wealth of information with us and for making it straightforward and easy to understand. ~ Live from Dallas

[uunz]

This is an awesome tutorial for building an easel. To the point, no obnoxious music over the instructions, and insightful information during the construction. Wish i could give two thumbs up. :)

[kmwd]

Mark, thank you for the video and all of your others. At the 3:00 mark where you are talking about spacing the boards to fit the bolt loosely so that the bolts could move freely, at both ends of the long stock you can use a spacer block of wood the same thickness in between the long boards to make the space the same at both ends and there will be less movement between the long pieces of wood. The block of wood could be very small but would obviously need to be slightly wider than the bolt. You can use double sided tape on both sides to put it in place instead of gluing and weighting for the glue to setup. Hope this helps. :)

[cooney]

Great instruction. You are an excellent instructor. I have been teaching for almost 30 years and I can recognize a good instructor! Your are very detailed and easy to understand. Thanks I am looking forward to building this easel!

[CotyWK]

Instead of screwing the canvas into the board it would be better to use small horizontal pieces of wood with their own carriage bolts to either clamp the top and bottom of the outside of the canvas (from the front) or clamp the inside of the canvas frame (from the back). Quicker change out at least, and easier to make.

[gezbutler]

I have only just started painting very basic, I bought a cheap easel which kept moving so now I’ve just made this easel, and I’m very happy with it, thank you,

[trupacalist]

Great idea, and great video! To avoid screwing into the frame of the canvas, or having to drill all the holes, you could always replicate what you did with the sliding portion, and just use a wooden brace on top and bottom, that are both adjustable. That would give you the ability to adjust the height of the canvas, as well as the size of the canvas, with just 2 more pieces of wood, two more screws, two more washers and two more wing nuts. You could even double up the sliders, and put them on the outside of the original sliding port, to avoid them colliding, with just a bit more work. Again, amazing Idea, and amazing video. Thank you so much!

[katepavelle]

Guess what! I asked for this easel for Christmas, and that's what my husband and younger daughter made for me! It's wonderful, thank you for sharing information so generously.

[sooth]

Mark, Thanks for sharing this. This easel is a really wonderfully designed and simple to build. I built mine last week, and I spent less than 4$ on it (for the wing nuts, bolts, and washers). I used some nice old 2x4s that I planed down (they were originally about 1 3/4" thick) and that I already had on hand.

I did make 2 modifications: I used a 1/4" spacer at the top and bottom, and glued those 4 pieces together (the two uprights with a spacer at each end). I did not use the top block or the diagonal brace. I installed adjustable feet on it. These have a plastic cap/foot on the end, and they thread up or down in a steel insert. I have uneven floors (I live in an old house), so this is very convenient for me. I already had those feet on hand, so I didn't spend anything on them, but they aren't expensive. The cheapest ones just work with a "t- nut", but the threaded inserts are less likely to work loose like a t-nut might.

I haven't decided if I want to stain it, varnish it, (or both), or leave it raw. I'm not as much of a fan of painting it black, but I think a dark orangy wood tone would look nice.

[vickycurtin]

I truly love the addition of the brick! Why get fancy and spend more time and money when you can use a perfectly good brick? I love your videos, Mark, thanks so much.

[greenatom]

Great video, very clear and very considerate, as they all are. I have enjoyed all of them, and bought (and recommend) the ones that are for sale.

There are so many positives, but one thing that I haven't seen mentioned, but which I greatly appreciate, is the lack of music. I've seen some instructional videos that begin with a pretentious logo accompanied by thundering music, in an attempt to look impressive.

Your vids just get to the point of clearly transmitting information, without any phoniness, which I so appreciate. Thank you!

[StuNankivell]

Belated thanks Mark! A month ago I built my easel based exactly on your design and I absolutely love it. Huge fan of your work and your videos - Cheers from Australia!