The Easel

Many of you know from reading our Gesso 101 posts that Gesso has been around a very long time. The origins of the Easel are much older. The concept of the Easel really is old as man. Necessity being the mother of invention; the first Easel was most likely devised when cavemen leaned pieces of bark against a tree to better view the scratchings they’d made on it with a sharp stone.

Throughout the modern world Easels are in use for so many purposes. There are probably more Easels in use for the creation and presentation of two-dimensional visual arts than any other use. Many of you would also be familiar with Easels used in many ways that go primarily unnoticed, such as fancy brass Easels that may hold a restaurant’s daily special board or the announcement of a reserved space for an event gathering.

We’ll spare you the long standing (pun intended) history of the Easel which has gone from relative obscurity to modern day tool of artists and many industries so that we can get right to information regarding The Easel’s art world applications.

There are a few different types of art easels. Very ornate carved wood or brass easels are often used to hold framed or unframed paintings, photos, drawings or any two-dimensional visual art for display purposes. This is not the most common way to display art for gallery showings and today is used more for display of a prominent individual piece or the prize of a collection at a gallery, museum, or at home.

The two most common easel styles are Tripod and H-Frame designs. Tripod easel designs are based on three legs with variations that include crossbars to make the easel more stable and an independent mechanism to allow for vertical adjustment of the working plane without sacrificing the stability that the three legs of the easel provide.

H-Frame style Easels are based on right angles and provide the most stable base on which to create. The posts are generally parallel to each other with the base of the easel being rectangular. The main portion of the easel consists of two vertical posts with a horizontal crossbar support, thus giving the design the general shape of an “H.”

It’s important to have the right easel. A good easel choice will take into account the type of painting you will be doing, the environment where you’ll be working and of course the scale or size that you’ll be working with.

There are several art production easels most artists are use; tabletop, paintbox, French, sketch, studio, and Taboret.

Tabletop Easels are among the least expensive. They are small so they don’t take up much space; they’re also convenient to store and carry since they’re foldable. Due to the table-top easel’s generally small average size, they aren’t suitable to use with large canvases. Available in both light metal and wood varieties these easels can be ideal for doing close work while seated.

Paint-box Easels make a great portable prop for beginners. In addition to holding your canvas, these easels are also comprised using a container box. The box is to be used for carrying/storing supplies. Great for outdoor painting due to they’re compact portability; the problem with paintbox easels is that they aren’t very stable so a steady platform is advisable.

The French Easel is very versatile. They’re comprised of a canvas carrier, adjustable extending leg tripod easel, and supply box in one package. French Easels are foldable so like the Paintbox and Tabletop Easels they are easy to transport. Many come with straps and/or a briefcase handle to further facilitate mobility. These easels can generally be adjusted for Tabletop use. Ideal for either standing or seated work, French Easels usually incorporate the means to adjust the working angle.

Sketch Easels are incredibly lightweight. They are commonly referred to as display easels because they can be used to display light works of art such as charcoal sketches or the like. However, since these painting easels are so lightweight, they usually don’t offer much stability. The may be ideal for light indoor impromptu work.

Studio Easels are almost always H-Frame Easels though very heavy studio tripods do exist. These easels can be incredibly large and are designed to stand on the floor. Considered the most stable of painting easels, studio easels are quite suitable to use when you need to work with large and deep-edge canvases. As with any standing easel they afford the artist the ability to ’step back’ to view work in progress on the same plane as the completed work will be displayed.

One of the drawbacks of studio easels is that they aren’t portable because they’re so heavy this drawback has the positive effect of allowing for quite vigorous painting. The Artist Studio Easel is as you might have guessed among the most expensive of art easels.

The Taboret Easel is called an easel but is only an easel in the loosest sense of the term in that you may use it (as any countertop) as an art platform. More of a cabinet providing ample storage to keep any work area organized Taboret are available in a wide array of styles and materials.

A Taboret does make an excellent addition to any artist’s studio area accommodating a wide variety of supplies; many Taborets can easily be used to hold a Tabletop Easel and can help make it a breeze to finish deep-edge canvas work. Some of the more robust designs sport several drawers and cabinets endowed with smaller organizational nooks, separations and cubbyholes; a Taboret may be equated to an artist’s ‘roll-top’ desk (sans Roll-top of course).

Well there you have it; a rundown of the easels most appropriate for artistic endeavors. Without any further ado or loud rebellion you should now be ready, armed with the links and info in this post, to take a stand for your art by acquiring an easel.

(Drum Roll Please…)

If you’ll recall from where we left off last time; we have pigment and we have binder. Here comes the answer you’ve been kept in suspense over. The primary factor in different grades of paint is the ratio of pigment to binder.

Binder comes in several differing forms, some runny, some thick, some sticky, and some jelly-like. Regardless the type, binder is generally much less expensive than pigment which is often derived from pure and sometimes rare elements. Thus paint with more binder and less pigment in the mix will be less expensive to manufacture than one with a lot of pigment, and less binder.

This ratio is called the Pigment Load.

Lower grade paints have a low pigment load, which makes them less expensive. The very best grades of paint have a high pigment load ratio. This applies to virtually all paints on the planet—watercolors, acrylics, oils, exterior paint, you name it!

Though there are varying costs for the different types of binder, delivery and storage method; the biggest difference between ‘cheap’ and quality paint -between inexpensive and quite costly, is usually all about the pigment load ratio. Of course at the upper end, the source, rarity, purity and type of pigment become primary factors in the price of the paint.

Acrylic Paint Grades

Artist (grade) acrylics have a high amount of pigment and contain little to no fillers which make them a top of line product. An artist can paint on a variety of surfaces with this grade of acrylic. Paper, canvas, and wood panels are just a few to mention.

Iridescent, pearlescent, interference, and metallic (grade) acrylics are a mix of conventional pigments with mica particles with a veneer of titanium dioxide. This combination of elements creates the lustrous shimmer of precious metals and mother-of-pearl.

Student (grade) acrylics have, sometimes, as little as half the amount of pigment of artist grade acrylic but have a high amount of filler. They are much economical than artist grade but do have some limitations to them. The biggest limitation to them, that I can see, is the lack of range of colors.

Incidentally, there’s no reason at all to spend the extra shekels on the higher-grade paints until you’ve used student grade to ‘flesh out’ an image on your prepared surface. It generally takes several applications to fill in for the absent pigment anyway, so if you like the way a piece is turning out you can always get the artist grade to go over and complete the painting.

Gouache (grade) acrylic has a couple similarities to the traditional gouache such as it’s opaqueness and matte finish, yet unlike the traditional it’s waterproof once dry.

Craft (grade) acrylics has a lot of the same characteristics of student grade acrylics. It’s a great economical choice to paint on everyday items such as wood, metal and fabrics to spruce them up. The another great benefit of craft paints over student grade is the great variety of colors available.

Exterior (grade) acrylic, our last but certainly not least. Although I was kidding about exterior grade acrylic paints earlier they are often used as artistic medium and are available in in several grades or pigment load levels themselves. As is apparent by their name they are formulated to withstand outdoor conditions. Exterior acrylic can adhere to a variety of surfaces to create murals, signs, and accentuate any architecture features. Think about it for a moment; exterior acrylic paint is seen more than any other grade of acrylic paint. I’m not speaking of the homeowner’s annual or biannual preventative coat. The murals in public outdoor venues are definitely viewed on a much larger scale than the masterpieces in art museum collections or small galleries.

Did that help clear up any ambiguity regarding the differences in grades of acrylic paint? Hopefully you now have a much better understanding of the differences as well as some creative ideas about how to use the various grades of acrylic based paints. More options to add to the mix when devising the creation of your vision. Enjoy!

Comin’ at ya’ with the inside skinny on the real difference between “Student” and “Artist” grade Acrylic.

You probably think all you need to know is that one is better then the other and cost’s a whole lot more. Maybe you believe that a professional artist would never use “Student” grade paint; or that a student or amateur has no place using the higher-grade paint made especially for “real” artists. You’d be wrong on each count. Just as you use brushes and/or palette knives of different shape, size or material to achieve myriad desired effects; the grades of Acrylic Paints are different tools in your art supply to enhance your repertoire and aid in enabling you to realize the image seen in your mind’s eye. Might we suggest a fine Benjamin Moore; we hear it wears well, holds up to the elements, goes on easy and can increase your home’s value for years to come.

All kidding aside; when it comes to Acrylic Art Paints there are several grades made by a fair number of well-known art paint manufacturers (and some not quite so well known); some of the companies that originally manufactured house-paint went into the retail art paint business.

Acrylic paint like all paint is basically a combination of two things; pigment, which gives the paint its color; and binder, which holds the pigment to the surface and gives the paint its consistency and working properties.

If you’ve ever opened an old bottle or tube of paint, or even an old can of exterior latex you’ve noticed the clear liquid that comes out of the tube or bottle, or the layer of clear liquid floating in the can. That’s the binder that has separated from the pigment.

Acrylic Paint Storage Side note: That separating of pigment from binder is an annoying phenomenon and the reason it’s so important to make sure your tube paints are fresh and kept capped. If you use bottle paints they should be stored bottom up and shaken before use; and always be sure your paint cans are thoroughly mixed and then well stirred to avoid air bubbles since there isn’t time for the bubbles created by mixing to rise and escape.

Come back soon when we’ll let you in on the main difference between grades of paint as well as better understanding the different grades of Acrylic Paint that exist and some of their suggested uses.

Part III.I: A Mod Podge® Addendum (The Other Primer Coat –It’s Not Just For Decoupage Anymore!)

Jan Wetstone first developed Mod Podge® in the 1960s in her garage. Produced by the Plaid Creative Group, formerly just “Plaid”; the name of this now famous mixture came from the term “Modern Decoupage.” Jan tested Mod Podge® on all kinds of surfaces; she even decoupaged an entire VW Beetle using bed sheets! Over the years, Mod Podge® has grown to become a favorite of artists and crafters everywhere.

I’m going into depth regarding Mod Podge® because it is a great product. I’ve used many of the several types of Mod Podge® for different projects.Though important enough to warrant it’s own addendum “What has Gesso to do with Mod Podge®?” you may well ask.

Discussion of Mod Podge® belongs here because it is so closely related and in as wide usage today as is particularly ‘Student’ grade Gesso. Mod Podge® can serve as a marvelous replacement for -or addition to your use of Gesso in preparing your ground; whether on canvas, wood, plastic or glass: there’s a surprising array of surfaces on which Mod Podge® will work. Mod Podge® has come a long way since its invention in the 1960s. Recently celebrating it’s 40^th anniversary, this versatile product is available in so many different forms and finishes and is relatively inexpensive. Mod Podge® comes pre-mixed in a large variety of formulas to serve in almost any application. For those not familiar with Mod Podge® it’s basically an all-in-one glue, sealer and finish, fairly well known among artists and crafters of every style and skill level for its versatility, dependability and value. It works as glue to adhere paper, fabrics and other porous materials to almost any surface; it holds tight and can dry clear. It’s a sealer that protects decoupage, montage/ collage, acrylic paint and stain, fabric and much more! It can be very durable, smooth and fast drying! It’s Non-toxic and cleans up with soap and water making it as excellent a choice for yourself as for the budding young artists in your family. There is an outdoor formula that will quite efficiently protect your work from all but the harshest of weather. There is also an acid-free formula so that for instance paper will not deteriorate. There is even a light-activated Glow-in-the-dark formula. The possibilities are endless!

Many artists are using Mod Podge® and Gesso very successfully in creating art journals and artist trading cards. Both Acrylic Gesso and Mod Podge® work very effectively to seal and add rigidity to the pages themselves and to aid in adherence of almost anything. You could for instance submerge an entire dried blossom in Mod Podge®; allow the excess to run off and the blossom to dry, thus sealing the blossom from deterioration and fading. Both products easily make the crossover from artist journalizing to scrapbooking.

I love options, how about you? Now you can add Mod Podge®, another multifaceted Gesso-like tool to your arsenal of art supplies and techniques. Perhaps you’ll come up with innovative ways to make use of different Gesso from suggested uses for the various Mod Podge® formulas.

This completes our Bloginar on Gesso. Thank you for attending. Hopefully we’ve supplied you with enough to give you the impetus to forge out on your own in discovering the wonders of the many brands and varieties of Gesso as well as imagining techniques and effects achievable through it’s creative uses.

Welcome back for Part III of our Gesso Bloginar.
Please have a seat we’ll begin immediately. Today’s session will be brief; I know you all want to get started on your weekend.

Part III: MORE FUN WITH GESSO (The Topcoat Sealant)

We hope we’ve gotten you thinking about what Gesso can do for you, and what you could do using Gesso and some imagination.

Remember, a gesso has a little bit tooth or texture so an artist’s paint has a surface in-which to adhere to. Depending on preference though, an artist can remove the tooth but keep the original properties of the gesso (paint bonding & protecting the substrate) intact by using a sand-able gesso.

Using the right gesso is something an artist needs to keep in mind when planning out their piece. What are the properties of the paint? What kind of surface is going to be used? What is the desired effect? All of these variables need to be taken into consideration to have the desired outcome.

Just as there are different grades of house paint; there are different grades of art paint; and as you might have guessed there are different grades of gesso. We’ll be addressing the differences between art paints in more depth at another time. Suffice it to say that art paints and gesso are both available in ‘student’ and professional or ‘artist’ grade products. In general, artist grade gesso contains more pigment and less filler. This gesso has superior covering power and doesn’t require more than two coats. Student grade gesso contains same amount of filler as an artist grade gesso, but has less pigment. With less pigment in the mix, it will require a few more coats than the artist grade gesso.

There is another readily available product very similar to Gesso in character and performance most likely more well known by crafters than painting artists. The product was invented in the 1960’s and goes by a name befitting its era of origin. Do you know it? If you guessed Mod Podge®, you’re right.

That will take us right into our Gesso 101: A Gesso Primer - Mod Podge® Addendum (The Other Primer Coat –It’s Not Just For Decoupage Anymore!)

If you’d like to stay we’ll be continuing after a short break. For those of you that would like to get on with your weekend, you’re welcome and encouraged to return for the material at your convenience.