ATWORTH French Easel for Painting, Deluxe Beech Wooden Field & Studio Sketchbox Easel Stand with Metal Side Tray, Portable& Easy Transport for Painting Outdoor, Holds Canvas up to 34"- Gray Walnut

First of all, the Grey Walnut ATWORTH French Easel is AWESOME!! Over 30 years ago, I purchased two French Easels for my wife and I. We’re both artists and we still have them and use them for studio/plein-air drawing, watercolor and acrylic painting. A couple of months ago, I decided I wanted to start painting with oils, too. I purchased painting supplies and an aluminum easel. The aluminum easel didn’t cut it and I took it back to the store the next day. I researched Pochade boxes and tripods online and ordered one. When the box arrived, I assembled it and thought it looked and worked great. When I started adding tubes of paint, brushes and supplies in the box and mounting a canvas on the easel I realized the easel and box were just too small for me. There wasn’t much work surface and the tripod just didn’t feel stable with a larger canvas or Masonite sheet fixed on it. I packed it up and sent it back. Our French easels, though sometimes heavy and bulky, seemed to be the best solution, so I started looking for French easels online. Our old French easel boxes are lite colored, so the grey walnut offered an easy way to differentiate from my old box and the easel shelf and shoulder strap looked like a great addition to what I was already accustomed to…so I placed my order on Amazon Prime including FREE delivery. When my order arrived (a couple of days ahead of schedule), I was DELIGHTED with my new ATWORTH French Easel. To my surprise and delight, the legs and arms are actually of a heavier construction than our old boxes. To test it, I’ve already fixed a pen & ink drawing on watercolor paper stretched on a 42” wide X 32” tall sheet of .25” Masonite weighing 14 Lbs to the easel and it supports it just fine (see attached photos). The adjustable aluminum tray inside the drawer is a good idea, but I’m disappointed that it falls apart and won’t keep assembled in the drawer. To remedy that, I had a roll of aluminum duct tape that I cut into strips and taped the joints together with the tape. It holds together perfect now. I prefer to have the easel shelf hang off the side of the drawer when it’s drawn out where it’s handier, as opposed to attaching it to the back of the box. So that’s where I’m putting it. While shopping online for the easel, I discovered backpack straps that attach by the bolts and wingnuts on each back leg and the top of the base of the easel box, near the handle. I ordered one of those and attached it to my ATWORTH French Easel. It is comfortable and makes carrying the easel much easier. It also frees up both hands, which is nice. My new ATWORTH Easel is the BEST!

I took this out plein air painting a month ago and I’m glad I figured out how to set it up at home and not just wing it. It did take a bit of figuring out. But once you do it is easy to set up and take down. Which I needed to take down quickly as a storm was approaching. The legs were sturdy and supported everything well. I did read other reviews about the weight. It is I think 20 lbs so you wouldn’t want to trek too far with it but not too heavy to hang by the strap around my shoulder and walk to my set up place. The only negative I can see is that it comes with a tray and paper towel holder and I couldn’t see a way to put those inside the box to carry so I left those back at the car.

This was my first purchase of a French easel. (Past easel purchases include an aluminum tripod type, H-frame desktop and a floor-standing studio easel also manufactured by ATWORTH.) The fact that this French easel is constructed of oak is what sold me over similar beechwood French easels. The oak grain and overall "fit and finish" did not disappoint. This is a furniture-grade piece.Sadly, I found a defect on a front-facing surface (backboard for the canvas). One of the four corners was hollow and did not properly adjoin the side panel, thus posing a risk that it would peel away over time and splinter. On the plus side, the brass wingnuts and knobs are large enough to easily tighten down. (I bought two other types of French easel where parts were substantially smaller — too small even for small adult hands to easily adjust. Making use of the wingnuts was not a problem on this model.)The main thing that sets this ATWORTH easel apart is that it comes with a tray that attaches to the side of the box (handy because you may not have a table handy in the field). Among the French easels I comparison shopped, the presence of this extra surface was a completely unique feature and is a reason to consider this product above others. Unfortunately, I returned rather than exchanging this easel after discovering the aforementioned defect after coming to appreciate that it would be too heavy to make practical use for plein air painting once I loaded art supplies inside the box.I purchased this before a scheduled trip to a National Park where I expected to paint but by the time the box was filled with brushes and paints — whether it was this model or the other two French easels I tried — it was too heavy for travel purposes. (Although I can confirm, having placed it on a scale, that the oak did not add to the weight above the more commonplace beechwood French easels of the same size.)Ultimately, I went back to an aluminum easel I purchased as a student years ago but had not used for plein air because the manufacturer never thought to offer a carrying case. It became feasible to use my aluminum easel for plein air painting once I located beach umbrella carrying case here on Amazon that fits — allowing me to carry it, at only 2lbs, much like a folding camp chair. I put my art supplies in a small backpack and bought a "beach wagon" sold on Amazon (ASIN B0B23ZP74G) to complete my plein air setup.Another option for this purpose — seemingly preferred by the pros — is a Pochade (box easel), which are mounted on a camera-style tripod. However, those setups were not any more lightweight than the U.S. Art Supply aluminum Del Mar easel sold for less here on Amazon (ASIN B00PR8XMJQ). Additionally, the Pochade box easels don't allow for much flexibility in canvas size — so ultimately I couldn't justify investing in a Pochade setup given that I came up with a solution to transport my lightweight aluminum easel.If you are buying this or any other French easel for use indoors, is also not the best option (H-frame desktop or floor-standing model is the more traditional choice for studio use). Although the French easel is a classic design that has been in use for hundreds of years, it is best suited for those who have a limited amount of art supplies (students, children) that can be tucked away in the box when not in use — and those who don't intend to travel all that far with it fully loaded. For those who don't mind the more substantial weight over a costlier Pochade easel, a final advantage of a French easel is that the added "heft" and the wider spread of the wooden legs lends itself to better stability in the event of breezy outdoor conditions. Apart from these uses, however, there are better choices than a French easel for plein air painting.

The media could not be loaded. I LOVE this thing. I love the color of it and that it can be free standing or sat on a table.My only grievance is that its bit SUPER stable when on its legs but definitely stable enough and it won’t break or anything like that. The drawers are a nice touch but its not super roomy and i really only have space for my brush collection and tools.I took days to research and purchase the correct easel for me and I ended up buying this one and a another one that can hold more supplies but doesn’t free stand. One of the best deals I found is this one ! And I was also shopping in person and on another websites.This is a great purchase!*note it DOES have an insert for the top of the drawer so when you adjust the easel part not all of your tools are showing but I took it out because sometimes my drawer won’t open if I have it in.

I was very pleased with this easel. I find it to be a very good value for the price. Once standing and all nuts tightened it is very stable. NOTE: first time out of the box the side legs can be a bit confusing, there is a 90 second Youtube video on unboxing that makes things easily understandable.