how to make a great artists' easel

My complete online course on how to paint realism in oil is now available for free at www.drawmixpaint.com

[@MrHankc1949]

Mark I’m a 73 year old new artist. I’m just learning to draw and my goal is to someday paint in oil. I made this easel per your specs with some slight modifications to accommodate my 24x36 drawing board. Thank you so much. Cost to me here in the Philippines was about $43.

[@burntt999]

$43!!!!! You could buy a studio for that much in the Philippines! I’m totally joking. I have no clue what the economy is like there but I’d love to live there.

[@isdang23]

I am 70 and retired in the Philippines, also wishing to go back making art as I did before working in the USA.

[@TheAlternati0n]

so happy you do these type of videos for the public. Not many would give this much information for free, but youre creating a greater generation of artists. One step at a time

[@J-Obaltyboy]

Exactly.

[@edwardedmundson9356]

Totally agree. Priceless info.

[@PopExpo]

!QPpP

[@beckyg9831]

I made one, I made one! I followed your instructions and made this easel, and it is AWESOME!! Thank you for sharing this with us :)

[@cricket6009]

I just made one for my wife - she’s very pleased with it, as am I. Thank you

[@kevinl661]

Following Mark's video, I've made this easel too. Because I paint primarily on panels (hardboard or linen covered panels) I substituted two cross supports for the long board + screws to hold my painting surfaces. Instead of wing nuts, I splurged for two nice knurled knobs ($2.50 ea) that thread onto the carriage bolts, which hold the cross supports. I also sprang for four adjustable feet (floors in my house are far from level). Stained it not only looks nice, but was cheap to make (even with some slightly nicer wood), has a much smaller footprint than my plein air (tripod) setup. It does have some movement (jiggling) when painting vigorously, but otherwise I have no complaints whatsoever. Much gratitude to Mark for putting this video, with such clear directions, up.

[@djangolad]

Bless you man! You're one of the most generous dudes on YT!

[@trupacalist]

Great idea, and great video! To avoid screwing into the frame of the canvas, or having to drill all the holes, you could always replicate what you did with the sliding portion, and just use a wooden brace on top and bottom, that are both adjustable. That would give you the ability to adjust the height of the canvas, as well as the size of the canvas, with just 2 more pieces of wood, two more screws, two more washers and two more wing nuts. You could even double up the sliders, and put them on the outside of the original sliding port, to avoid them colliding, with just a bit more work. Again, amazing Idea, and amazing video. Thank you so much!

[@uunz4075]

This is an awesome tutorial for building an easel. To the point, no obnoxious music over the instructions, and insightful information during the construction. Wish i could give two thumbs up. :)

[@burntt999]

2 2x2-8’ 1 2x4-8’ 1 ⅝ x4-8’ or something close to ⅝ thick Could also get more than 1 for multiple paintings so it’s easier to work on others while others dry)(if that’s your style) 1lb box of 2-½” deck screws 1” drywall screws 2 2 ½ carriage bolts. (I’ve used 5/16” width and one size larger. Both worked great) 2 Large washers that match bolt sizes 2 Wing nuts - matching bolts

[@burntt999]

- so I don’t have to keep finding the moment when he explains the supply list.

[@fredberger3155]

I'm a cabinet maker and journeyman carpenter. Your work is good.

[@kennybellew]

I like this design because it can be used in a tight space, such as a corner. Nice work.

[@pattiramsey121]

I can't thank you enough for this video. You are an excellent teacher, carefully covering each step and emphasizing what is most important. I built this today and am really pleased with it.

[@gezbutler321]

I have only just started painting very basic, I bought a cheap easel which kept moving so now I’ve just made this easel , and I’m very happy with it , thank you ,

[@carstenbohemus8501]

I built this! Put a pulley system on it like you have on your premium model. It looks like a horse’s ass because I’m no carpenter, but man does it work! Thank you for your generosity.

[@barbaraburgdorff7025]

You have done such a wonderful job of explaining how to build this easel. I am a great-grandmother and am ready to tackle this project (with the help of Home Depot cutting the boards for me! I can do the sanding, drilling and painting on my own.). Thank you so much for sharing your wealth of information with us and for making it straightforward and easy to understand. ~ Live from Dallas

[@greenatom]

Great video, very clear and very considerate, as they all are. I have enjoyed all of them, and bought (and recommend) the ones that are for sale. There are so many positives, but one thing that I haven't seen mentioned, but which I greatly appreciate, is the lack of music. I've seen some instructional videos that begin with a pretentious logo accompanied by thundering music, in an attempt to look impressive. Your vids just get to the point of clearly transmitting information, without any phoniness, which I so appreciate. Thank you!

[@user-bq2gz4jy2s]

greenatom

[@cooney9]

Great instruction. You are an excellent instructor. I have been teaching for almost 30 years and I can recognize a good instructor! Your are very detailed and easy to understand. Thanks I am looking forward to building this easel!

[@HeliPadUSA]

Isn't he though? Very precise and clear.

[@babliverma6747]

Sir i do not understand how to set canvas ineasel? Plz help me!

[@ontheotherhand7627]

Bought padauk and cherry to make this. A friend offered to run it through a planer, and then brought back the completed easel. Beautiful, and easy to use. I liked the design but wanted to make something that would be cherished as a thing of lasting beauty.

[@km3wd]

Mark, thank you for the video and all of your others. At the 3:00 mark where you are talking about spacing the boards to fit the bolt loosely so that the bolts could move freely, at both ends of the long stock you can use a spacer block of wood the same thickness in between the long boards to make the space the same at both ends and there will be less movement between the long pieces of wood. The block of wood could be very small but would obviously need to be slightly wider than the bolt. You can use double sided tape on both sides to put it in place instead of gluing and weighting for the glue to setup. Hope this helps. :)

[@burntt999]

I made this baby! I’m about to make another one so I’m here for the supply list… again.. Mark really should’ve put a supply list link in the description, man. Dang!

[@CotyWK]

Instead of screwing the canvas into the board it would be better to use small horizontal pieces of wood with their own carriage bolts to either clamp the top and bottom of the outside of the canvas (from the front) or clamp the inside of the canvas frame (from the back). Quicker change out at least, and easier to make.

[@michaelpoindexter8886]

This is nice design although I would reverse the wing nuts. Having access to them on the front would be more convenient. I would also make some adjustment to attaching the canvas to the frame .

[@StuNankivell]

Belated thanks Mark! A month ago I built my easel based exactly on your design and I absolutely love it. Huge fan of your work and your videos - Cheers from Australia!

[@sooth15]

Mark, Thanks for sharing this. This easel is a really wonderfully designed and simple to build. I built mine last week, and I spent less than 4$ on it (for the wing nuts, bolts, and washers). I used some nice old 2x4s that I planed down (they were originally about 1 3/4" thick) and that I already had on hand. I did make 2 modifications: I used a 1/4" spacer at the top and bottom, and glued those 4 pieces together (the two uprights with a spacer at each end). I did not use the top block or the diagonal brace. I installed adjustable feet on it. These have a plastic cap/foot on the end, and they thread up or down in a steel insert. I have uneven floors (I live in an old house), so this is very convenient for me. I already had those feet on hand, so I didn't spend anything on them, but they aren't expensive. The cheapest ones just work with a "t- nut", but the threaded inserts are less likely to work loose like a t-nut might. I haven't decided if I want to stain it, varnish it, (or both), or leave it raw. I'm not as much of a fan of painting it black, but I think a dark orangy wood tone would look nice.

[@moirawarden8906]

Fabulous! I love the simplicity of it. Love the painting on it even more.

[@impmulcahy2844]

I built this easel about two years ago, the only thing I did differently was to put locking wheels on it so I could move it more easily. I still love this easel. Inexpensive and easy to build as well as sturdy and versatile. Who could ask for more?

[@douglasfanthome8676]

I really like the practical way you describe the assembly and use of the easel. I am going to throw away my existing easel and build a new one. Thank you.

[@dubbjb]

Made an easel using these exact instructions about a year ago and absolutely love it. I made an additional canvas panel adapter and a board for taping up canvas paper. The design is quite genius. Couldn’t be happier! Thank you sooo much for sharing.

[@nan0908]

Could you share how you made the canvas panel adapter? I would like to do this, too. Thanks

[@dubbjb]

@@nan0908 itvwould be hard to explain via writing. I would need to send you pics. Its very easy to make and works great or panels

[@davidsierra6682]

You're brilliant! Thank you for taking the time to show this build. I enjoy watching your building projects! I will do this!

[@katepavelle9465]

Guess what! I asked for this easel for Christmas, and that's what my husband and younger daughter made for me! It's wonderful, thank you for sharing information so generously.

[@davidoleary3923]

You did a great job on this video. The black backdrop made everything clearer and you were very patient and clear with your instructions. Thank you for the effort you put into this.

[@amyholderness8142]

love it. Been looking for something that stands straight up and is a space saver. Wonderful. Will get me some wood tomorrow. Thank you!

[@christianlombardo14]

EXCELLENT Easel design! I love the design, efficiency and the simplicity in building this! Thank you for sharing!

[@vickycurtin5622]

I truly love the addition of the brick! Why get fancy and spend more time and money when you can use a perfectly good brick? I love your videos, Mark, thanks so much.

[@Prospector-xs2mz]

You are all correct. Mark is a very concise and clear Art Instructor on all of his video's, even this one. I love his instructional technique's. This is a great artist easel, and is quick, easy, and cheap to build for any artist including new budding artist's. However his best accomplishment in easels, is the Geneva Artist Easel which he shows in another video. WOW, What an excellent Easel, Bar None ! The only draw back with it's huge, hefty price tag. Most artist's (especially the new budding artist's), cannot afford the huge hefty $1800.00 dollar price tag that goes with it. If he could get the price tag down to where most artists (and even new budding artist's), could afford it then he would accomplish selling a lot of them. The alternative is that most handyman DIY woodworkers with a small amount of woodworking tools and experience could fabricate such an easel out of plywood and other materials from the local lumberyard, or hardware store though (as most of the materials would probably be in the neighborhood of around a $100.00 dollars), if Mark would see fit to publish a set of plans for a small reasonable price. There are other handyman DIY woodworkers like myself for instance (if I felt like doing so), that can actually fabricate such a Geneva Artist's easel out of the same common locally purchased materials by just looking at the video, or pictures, (even though the exact size dimensions are not listed or available), and with a certain amount of modifications thereby still not infringing upon any copywrite entitlements. I have built a lot of items over the years doing that same method of using nothing more than pictures or video's of things, then building them. Though I only build them for my own personal use, and never sell them, or produce them for sale. One of my accomplishments was building a full-sized and usable replica of a 17th century hooded rocking baby cradle for my granddaughter to use after she was born (who's now grown up into adulthood), entirely from a small 2 inch by 2 inch photograph torn from an early American colonial furniture magazine article. Yes I still have that cradle. It is sitting in one of my bedrooms awaiting any new great-grandchildren to come along. Otherwise it will be given to one of my children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren when I go to the promised land.

[@chriswhitehouse8982]

I suspect he doesn't want to provide the plans because he wants people to pay the $1800 for it :-)

[@NickRossi]

Clear and wonderful instruction. Thank you so much.

[@alihammoud6705]

I really appreciate all the efforts you put into this. Great easel for tight spaces, I will build me one for sure.

[@ramospk]

Nice carpentry for a painter!! On screws close to edges, drill a pilot hole so the wood won't split. I have to build an easel for my niece. This model is good, but I think that at the end, the way to attach the canvas sucks. I'll build your easel, but come up with two horizontal pieces that will clamp the canvas top and bottom and tighten it. The bottom one will be fixed with two dowels. The top one will slide and tighten. Also for aesthetics, and because it is a present, I'll round all those crude 2 x 4s, put not one but two 45 degree support's, sand it from 220 all the way to 400 grit, stain it mahogany color and apply a few layers of satin polyurethane. Thanks.

[@Smithskii]

Just finished making one for myself following your guide, it's awesome how I prefer that kind of setup over the usual 3 legs in triangle setup! Godspeed and thanks you!

[@burntt999]

Love your videos and personality Mr. Carder. I listen to your videos all day with my phone in my pocket just listening to your soothing voice. I just noticed that my butt gave this video a thumbs down... i quickly corrected my asses mistake. Thank you for sharing your huge wealth of info. People like me that cannot afford lessons really appreciate you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[@bruhbean22]

the thumbs down part😂😂

[@burntt999]

Yep… my ass is sneaky.. thumbed down this vid while I was listening to it in my pocket.

[@NME10E]

This will be one of my projects this weekend and a step in realizing my dream! Thank you so much for Shari g so much of your experience, wisdom and passion!

[@melindawolfUS]

It's very kind of you to provide your design for free. Thank you!

[@LeyLey41]

Renaissance man! Every video, tutorial, instruction, etc..clear concise and awesome! Thank you!

[@justfreedude]

thank you for making this vid 9 yrs ago. I just finished making an easel with your help!

[@rocifier]

Just built this in around 2 hours to your specifications. End result is outstanding - very functional. I finished mine with carnauba wax as I like the natural wood look. I live in the metric world, so I used 70mm zinc M6 bolts with wingnuts and they are perfect. Thanks!

[@Juanness1]

Nice, simple and understandable video, without nervous, annoying music and fast forward scenes. Good for woodwork newbees like me. Kudos!

[@samanth7777]

Thanks for sharing this the best step by step video on building an easel that anyone can follow. cudos to you for taking time to help so many artist.

[@mikeskrib510]

Love it just finished mine and got painting awsome thank you so much from a fellow Texan !!!!

[@user-rh5yf2wz8l]

Thank you for showing us how to make this easel! Much appreciated! *(That's a magnificent painting you did by the way!)*

[@MarcellaSmithVegan]

You have an ENORMOUS amount of knowledge, thank you for sharing

[@michaelwould]

Built this last night, my wood was a little bent for my slider and it drags a little bit and the bolt JUST barley pokes through the back for the wing nut but still works just fine! after putting both screws into the canvas that thing is pretty solid I was worried it would wobble too much left/right but there is not a lot of "Play" or wiggle which is nice, honestly this already feels 10x better than my fold up french easel I have I cannot wait to get started painting again, thank you for providing such simple and great information.

[@wickedways1291]

Wicked brilliant. It took me awhile to find you but it's all good. Oh, beautiful painting friend.

[@ohffsreally]

Just finished mine.... also slightly adjusted. I built two boards that also slide up and down independently. This allows me to use a canvas but also to paint on different surfaces such as paper on a thin board. It works and maybe not all the corners are perfect, but nothing beats the feeling of building something yourself. :) Thank you for the video!

[@arjenbergsma4781]

How did you make that?

[@davidkim2132]

Wow! Thank you for sharing Mr. Mark! I think this video is far better than any other videos on KZbin. I like that painting too! beautiful!

[@augrad98]

Have you considered using a bora wtx clamp to secure the canvas. It is a cutting guide for plywood but it is adjustable. Attach it to the front of the easel and then you can move the clam up or down to the size of the canvas.

[@fabiusdibernardo6393]

This is great...can't wait to make two of these for my studio. Thank you very much for sharing this!!!

[@Damremont18]

Good stuff. Excellent basic design. As someone who enjoys working with wood I can think of a few things I might do differently, but nothing that detracts or adds to the original design. Really enjoyed this.

[@maxhengst2252]

Made one today and it works great!!!!!!!! You are a grand instructor!

[@kristeloja8212]

You are very generous to share so much with us. Thank you!

[@zippyarnold399]

I like the simplicity and compactness it brings floorwise and widewise--and today I have intentionally started on this. You don't see many people showing valuable information such as this.

[@plumpearlboutique4424]

Thank you for this! Great project, and it will last me my lifetime.

[@kslav492]

This is by far the nicest easel i have ever used. Thank you for sharing this

[@ronmcknight5300]

thanks you so so much mark I am nearly finished my easil thanks to you , man I really needed a new one you are great very generous with your advice yours truly Ron McKnight Ireland LIMERICK City .

[@HondoTrailside]

I built one of these for my daughter, and it is a really good design. Highest woodworking praise is that this design while very clever as an easel, is also very clever as a piece of 2x constructions, right up there with the wisdom that underlies a crate. I am not joking. If you have ever studied the assembly and engineering of a crate is is a very clever construction. See if you can make a nailed together structure out of boards or sticks that is an equally rugged box, and any simpler.

[@ghoxxalla]

How sturdy is it in effect? I'm about to build one with spare timber I have, the biggest differences is that my wood is much thinner, so I'm affixing two planks together to have a solid piece with (almost) the correct thickness (1 5/8ths of an inch instead of 2) and the two standing pieces are much wider as I don't own a circular saw to cut them lengthwise. I'm interested in how steady it is, as painting requires a bit of force and last thing I need is to be afraid of it rocking around as I paint.

[@destroyer102794]

So I looked up designs for these simply because I wanted to see different options to base mine off of, and initially when I saw this I thought wow, that's different. I even thought it might be a little too much for me, but decided to watch just because I wanted to see it through. After watching it I really enjoy the idea, and plan on making my own once I finish unpacking (kind of encouragement to finish haha). Thanks a lot for doing this video, its a wonderful design!

[@linzertube]

Nice, simple easel. If it's good enough to produce incredible paintings like yours, it's good enough for me! Thank-you!

[@getzapt743]

Simple design for a great easel, with great instruction for easy assembly...Thank you sir

[@HerreraCam]

Love this easel. Have my wood precut and will assemble in the a.m. Thanks!

[@janethorp2114]

Thank you for the amazing detailed instructions. I love this easle I have now

[@michaelgoodwin5510]

I just watched a time-lapsed video of a father-daughter creation of an H easel and it lacked your specifications and simple to follow instructions. I am going to make this easel to hold my canvases more securely than my table top aluminum one. Thanks again for taking the time to explain the nuances as well so anyone can create an easel they would be proud of.

[@douglasasselstine7497]

I have had many easels over the years but this one I just put together following your instructions...I might add that as a pretty good carpenter I could not find any way to improve this design. Thank you

[@soulfulbrush7558]

This is just what I was looking for. I need a large easel that doesn't cost $200 , so this is awesome :)

[@manjunathh1153]

Sir, I m a great follower of you all the time. Thank you very much for the great tutorial. I did the easel same way as you did and it has come out very nice and perfect, I m so happy and satisfied. thanks a ton

[@chriswhitehouse8982]

I just made an easel based on this design (more or less). I made it 8 ft tall and rounded over the corners on the top piece and legs. I also stained the whole thing with a dark stain. The big difference is that I used.two boards that slide up and down independently so the canvas is squeezed in between. It works great, and be used if you paint sitting or standing and will fit any size canvas and looks very nice. I'm "chriswhitehouse08" on Instagram if you want to see a picture of it. Thanks Mark for the plans!

[@raulrubencolunga5284]

Thank you for sharing! I was thinking the same, I mean, to craft a slightly modified design to squeeze the canvas instead of screwing it.

[@icandothis1238]

I'm sitting here thinking the same thing too. I like his new easel very much also, but since I don't have any easel, this one is where I'll start. (Well, my carpenter friend, I hope).

[@MarcellaSmithVegan]

Chris - I think he was just trying to get a basic design to ALL the other people who need one but don't know how to design it. Tweeking to perfection is up to us don't you think. But i guess there is always someone out there that would even try to one-up the pope, haha

[@MarcellaSmithVegan]

@@raulrubencolunga5284 I had a squeezer once and it seemed to mess up the stretch a hair, if more than a day it was noticeable when I was done, it was pretty expensive too, I don't imagine a screw hole would matter to any frame, especially when you count all the other holes in the frame including all made by different hangers, they each have their preferred style..

[@chriswhitehouse8982]

@@MarcellaSmithVegan Just to be clear, I don't believe I said anything negative about Mark's design and by no means was I trying to "one-up" Mark or his easel design. I was just stating what I did with my easel.

[@dfriendly1966]

I love this. Exactly what I've been searching for. Thank you sir.

[@JLOFlix]

EXCELLENT and practical Design!! THANK YOU so much!!

[@MrFedericobonilla]

Hi Mark, Again Thanks a lot for your time , very helpful video.. God Bless You.

[@GraveGrace]

Excellent, thank you for posting this! I’m going to make mine tomorrow.

[@bobbytirlea]

Absolutely fascinating! Thank you so much, sir! I've made my very own. It's a wonderful, low cost and much too efficient design! I'm going to enjoy painting with it for a long, long time!

[@jorgenio11]

Está padrísimo Mark, muchas gracias, qué diseño tan simple y práctico!

[@blakegoode9416]

You absolutely rock!! Thanks for this and all of your great videos!

[@NomisOTR]

Go ahead and make this easel, I made one this weekend. I find however that the 65 mm coach bolts were not long enough and had to take them back to the store and buy 75 mm ones. I should have purchased 85 mm or 100 mm bolts as these would have been even more user friendly. All in all a great project.

[@bruhbean22]

I can't express how amazed I am by this🤩

[@carlomac]

Awesome video Mark! Can't wait to build one.

[@dlombard]

Thanks for the great design. I made one and love it!

[@reset1974]

looks great. i will build one this week.thanks and salutes from Huelva (Spain)

[@sarahcordiner4243]

Thank so you much for sharing your expertise. You're amazing.

[@Niggipoo]

Fantastic video and solid, practical design. Good job!

[@Allie2370]

Just made this easel today. It was s fast and easy task thanks to this great video.

[@rudykammermeier7316]

Love that painting!

[@aquachinese4410]

Dear Mark: I undid a not-usable easel I bought before and use 2/3 of the timber to make a smaller one like your. Although it looks fragile, the structure you designed is very well balanced so it holds a quite heavy drawing board. Thank you so much for sharing! Aqua

[@stanleyjaxen8759]

Thank you for this video, its a great easel. you're a good person throughout

[@Danthehorse]

Good design that can be modified to use two uprights spaced an appropriate distance apart, which would be ideal for big canvas stability.

[@Mutt1961]

Great, practical and, above all - cheap! - solution for a sturdy easel! I hope Mark doesn't mind me suggesting a modification. There's a youtube vid titled "Easy $20 DIY Art Easel." I think I like that guy's solution for canvas brackets (holders) a bit better. It seems easier and more effective. It basically uses a couple carriage bolts, washers and wing nuts on two smaller pieces of wood instead of Mark's middle board and putting screws into your stretcher bars. They slide up and down the space in the long vertical boards. Affix a couple small washers on both ledges (my suggestion) to keep your canvas from slipping off. Then use a level to set the bottom ledge for your canvas and you're good to go! Having said that, Long Live Mark Carder and Draw Mix Paint!!!!!

[@Alexis-hn1yw]

I made thr easel! I really like how it came up! Thanks dor sharing your method!

[@multi_misa72]

Yup, i'm building this too. Thanks man.

[@ginnyblackmon1324]

Awesome, thanks so much for easel. I’m going to make a few to transport.

[@terryhall7177]

Thanks for this excellent video that's easy to understand. Very well done!

[@davidhaydenart472]

This is really awesome. I am going to be building my own in the near future.

[@mikeschrock5693]

Thanks for this video. I just assembled mine today. Amateur painter on a budget so this was perfect.

[@Templar777_K9]

Good, clear instructions with clear explanations. You must have job experience of being an instructor. Anyone who constructs this project should easily get an "A". grade.