Plein Air Painting - What do I use and why? My 'Plein Air' Set up!

I am frequently asked about my set up, when I’m out ‘plein air’ painting. What do I use or recommend?

Most important –

Keep it simple and light weight.

When I began to go out painting many years ago, I was primarily using watercolour. My priority then was for an easel which would be easy to tilt to any chosen angle, flat for sketching and granulation effects, or tilted to allow washes to run slowly down the paper. This keeps a bead of water ready for the next sweep of the brush. Additionally I carried my chair over my shoulder and a bag containing paper, paints and palette, brushes in a tube, etc, sponge, water and pot, and a couple of pencils pens etc. I also carried a board and bulldog clips.

Here is a photo taken in Albion place Ramsgate showing my watercolour kit, note the ‘frame’ made with two pieces of mountboard, one each side of a plywood board, and the bulldog clips in use. With this set up, I can make two paintings, as one dries, I can turn over the board and work on the other, perhaps using warmer or cooler colours? No need for masking tape!

I forgot to mention my Hat and sun cream, don’t forget your hat!

Oil painting needs different kit. I chose to use a ‘pochade’ box, because it is light weight. The one I use is made by Artcoe and is 12″ x 10″ with slots for 2 wet panels and a sliding tray palette, and space for small (37mm approx.) tubes of paint, brushes, palette knives etc. The slots don’t work with some wrapped canvas boards, which are too thick, so I use small bulldog clips, or a bungee strap, especially when using larger size boards up to 18″ x 14″. For smaller boards, I made a panel holder which adjusts to fit different sized panels, seen here.

To fit the tripod, I strengthened the base of the box with plywood and glue, to which I fitted a metal plate, which fits the quick release catch. It is a bit wobbly, but probably helps the looseness in my painting, ha ha!

This all fits in my Tesco ‘bag for life’ along with a brush washer and a bottle of medium. I use ‘zest it’, which doesn’t stink out the studio if indoors. Other useful items are a kitchen roll, and don’t forget the sun cream and hat. I keep all this equipment in the back of the car, so I can stop and paint anywhere, unplanned. I also have an old paint spattered jacket for cold or wet weather and an umbrella which fits to the chair arm and keeps the bright sun off my board while painting.

Here I am in the garden during lockdown, with my sun shade, pochade box and panel holder with a 14″ x 10″ panel.

For walking longer distances, some people prefer a rucksack or 2 wheel shopping trolley.

Others prefer to use a french box easel, which is heavy, but can accommodate larger panels or canvases. Many other types of pochade are made in the USA, such as Open Box M or Strada, and in Italy by Mabef, but I’ve not tried these yet.