Take It Easel plein air easel

"I can use my Take It Easel to paint in any size, from teeny to huge; what other setup can claim that? I love this thing! The Take-It Easel is by far my favorite piece of art equipment ever. "

My new Take-It Easel, the Stapleton Kearns version, is a vast improvement over my former Chinese knockoff "Beauport Easel". Though the price was higher, The Take It Easel has been worth every penny. There are so many ways the Take It Easel is better, I hardly know where to start.

The assembly of the Chinese version was just wrong. The palette support bars were not attached to the main part of the easel and the holders were in the wrong place; I had to make quite a few adjustments to be able to use it at all. The Take-It is built in such a way that the paintbox rests horizontally on the palette support bars. With the old easel, the paintbox was slanted toward the back of the easel, making it harder to paint and less stable.

Leg length adjustments on the Take It Easel are made easily by pulling out brass knobs, then releasing so the spring snaps into the hole at the required height. The knock-off "Beauport Easel" had hooks that pulled up to release the springs, which worked okay. Unfortunately, the hooks kept getting caught on things in the car, so the knobs are a huge improvement. There are other improvements, too. The Take It Easel crossbar is heavier; the metal tips on the legs are better than the Chinese plastic version; the leg extender is a great addition; the fact that the Take It Easel canvas support pegs attach right to the easel with the little strap that holds the easel together when not in use are all small but important differences.

My favorite feature of the Take It Easel is its stability. I don’t have to worry about my Take It Easel blowing over in the wind as my pochade-on-a-tripod has done, or hanging onto it with one hand while trying to paint with the other. The Take It Easel stays put because of the wide stance of the easel, plus the weight of the paintbox on it.

I can use my Take It Easel to paint in any size, from teeny to huge; what other setup can claim that? The padded strap makes it easy to carry. Nearly everything else goes into my paintbox (an ancient 12 x 16). Any other stuff I want (sketchbook, paper towels, lunch, water) goes into a small backpack. The whole thing takes about two minutes to set up and about one minute to break down.

I love this thing! The Take-It Easel is by far my favorite piece of art equipment ever.

Other hints: I put a piece of rubbery shelf liner under the paintbox to keep it from sliding on the palette support bars. I detached the bracket on the paintbox that kept it open at a right angle, so that it would lie flat instead. I use a 12” x 16” sheet of white plexiglass inserted into the cover of the paintbox for a palette. Before I leave home, I squeeze out paint into a Judson’s covered plastic palette, which fits inside the paintbox. At the end of the painting day, I just wipe off the paint that’s left on the plexi and close everything up. No mess! I stick my roll of paper towels on the end of the crossbar, with a loose bungee around it to keep the sheets from unrolling in the wind. I have a clip that hikers use to attach equipment to keep my trash bag hooked to one of the brackets. Finally, my metal “turps” container gets hung by its handle on one of the palette support bars.