For many years, I've been using a French Box Easel for my plein air work. I haven't done a lot of plein air with it since I moved to Ohio. It is quite cumbersome to pack and unpack.
I had been searching for a number of years for some good plein air tripod setups and was about to settle down to buy the pro line easels from https://enpleinairpro.com/, and I wasn't done saving up for the more expensive easels. However, I really wanted a plein air setup fairly quickly so that I could do some painting during the Autumn months! So, I started searching again.
This time, I found the blog post by artist, Sadie Valeri, an internationally recognized classical oil painter, whom I follow. See: https://www.sadievaleriatelier.com/post/my-plein-air-painting-setup . Her setup was very intuitive and right within my budget.
So, I collected my list of supplies to make my own plein air easel, based on hers, and I have to say that I am extremely pleased with my purchases. This component list is the one's that she suggests on her blog, so all credit really goes to her. Please subscribe to her site at: https://www.sadievaleriatelier.com/.
Here's what my new plein air setup (scroll down for the list of components)
To view a short video of my setup see my YouTube video:
Now, on to the components!
Main En Plein Air Easel Components:
iPad Clamp (panel holder for painting panels up to 9x12 inches)
In addition...
Additional Plein Air Easel Components:
Stone Bag (for weighing down easel setup during windy conditions)
Tactical-style Backpack (for painting supplies and to carry the tripod and palette box)