Lightweight Plein Air Set Up - What I Bring to Paint Outside

[@reeseosbornestudios]

I have an openM, had no idea they closed up shop.

[@ankaris5129]

Nice set up! I built a similar slim line pocade box. For those looking to stabilise the tripod due to wind, look at a 'stone bag'. It velcro's around the tripod legs and you fill it with rocks to help stabilise your set up and it wraps up nice and light. When you're done, dump the rocks!

[@patrickokra]

I already hang by backpack from it- truthfully there’s always a trade off. If you are going to have an ultra light kit, it’s not gonna be the best in the wind, you need something heavy for that like a French or Gloucester easel. Also, it can be very hard to find rocks depending on where you are painting

[@jocelynpryor5370]

Thanks sooooo much for posting this, Patrick! So many good tips! 😁😁😁

[@patrickokra]

Glad it was helpful!

[@grandpa_eric]

Nice setup. My concern is wind. I had my tripod topple over with painting attached- fortunately paint side up. And I had issues with squeezing out paint, reaching for brushes, etc., and stability. I need a better wet painting panel carrier; something portable. Thanks for the link in the description. Looking forward to seeing your (great) painting!

[@patrickokra]

I should have mentioned this point but didn't come to mind in the moment. Weighing the tripod down with the back pack does a lot to stabilize it. Kicking the legs out helps even more. But also there are settings to make the legs on the Siriu tripod angle out at a wider angle, and then I telescope the mast up higher to compensate. With the legs set at the wider, kicked out and weighed down by my bag, It is really secure 👍

[@ryaneatsalot]

Thanks for posting this! I don't see a brush washer / paper towels anywhere! Do you clean your brushes when you change colors? Or do you maybe have enough brushes that this isn't necessary?

[@patrickokra]

I just use a lot of brushes, i don't clean them

[@ethanbyrne5592]

Also nice to see how down to earth you are fella. Great video, cheers!

[@davefaulkner6302]

Try using a bungee chord and aluminum tent stake to stabilize your tripod. This will free up access to your pack and will add little weight.

[@patrickokra]

Valid idea but itwould probably double the amount of time to set up. Also, the initial necessity for this set up was to backpack through Europe- would be hard to do on paved roads or tight spaces. What I do if it’s really windy is set the tripod legs wider, and raise the mast- has never failed me, though I never go painting when there are 20+mph winds

[@shonaaitken7635]

I love this slim line box. Genius for travelling about. I attempted a copy but bought cheap hinges and the lid flaps about. Now I have to engineer some sort of stopper to keep it up 😝

[@patrickokra]

I would recommend the good hinges, hope you found a solution!

[@sujanithtottempudi2991]

New wave pochade is good too

[@patrickokra]

Honestly it is decent and works for many people, but a few things did not works for me personally. The shallow mixing area where you could not close the box with the paint in the palette area. I prefer a wooden palette over plastic. The hardware on the lid prevented me from using oil paper easily. It's kind of heavy, compared to mine, which adds up in a backpacking situation. Not the worst if you are plein air paintings a short walk from your car, though. I've seen a lot of people use them quite hapily!

[@ghostvillage1]

Thank you for enlightening me about that. I was thinking of building a pochade on my own. I find Ugo and ready made pochade way too expensive for what they are

[@UbiquitousBooks]

Interesting that you don't have any kind of rag to wipe down the brushes. Do you go through a lot of brushes in a painting, or just make do with one or two and clean them on the palette?

[@patrickokra]

Sometimes I go through almost 10, but its usually less than that. I don't know if my paintings would be better off if i had a rag in my hand. I think I've noticed that almost all painters that do have a rag in hand get a lot more paint on themselves. But I guess it's just preference. Also if i had a rag in hand, I would be able to record my paintings to make reels and shorts 😅

[@ethanbyrne5592]

Your pochade is beautiful. I have a u.Go! It’s ok and the lightest I could get at the time (I got the 6x8”) but it’s not a patch on yours!

[@louielouie4187]

Awsome, thank you

[@reneenouveau]

Hi Patrick, The link for the tripod goes to your stool of choice. Could you share what tripod you are using? Thanks!

[@patrickokra]

Hi - thanks for the catch! The tripod is the Siriu 5CX traveler, I've fixed the links

[@O_VERT]

Very useful! Thank you!

[@patrickokra]

Thanks!

[@tjs9876]

Great simple setup. Was wondering how many brushes you use for a painting and how would you clean them to change colours? I find carrying loads of brushes overwhelming.

[@patrickokra]

It depends on the painting, sometimes as little as three, sometimes 10. I don't clean them I just keep mixing paint, separate different colors and values, ex: sky brush, shadow brush, tree brush, grass brush. I usually carry around 20 brushes in the bamboo holder

[@tjs9876]

@@patrickokra thank you

[@yay-cat]

Thanks! How does the box lid stay open/ vertical?

[@patrickokra]

By the placement of the screw holes, the box only opens to a certain angle

[@sujanithtottempudi2991]

What is opinion on schminke medium W gel which converts oil paint to water mixable oils?

[@patrickokra]

I've never tried it, but I've been meaning to try water mixible oils, theres a lot of things that make sense about them, but they probably would not be good for my wooden palette

[@petersenesac8102]

Hi. I use the water soluble oil. They are just like oils. The water is not in the paint. It is only used for cleaning. You can use w/s oil as well for the medium. And for wiping your pallet. Your pallet looks pretty well sealed so it won't have any effect on the wood. However, some people don't like getting water on their oil brushes. I like it for plein air because I don't have to bring solvent to the site. The best thing is getting it off your hands or floor. Easy clean up.

[@briancragun3801]

@@petersenesac8102what brand of water soluble oils?

[@danielsauerbrey7054]

What’s the name of the paint box ? I use Sienna but it’s heavier , need a smaller one like yours ?

[@patrickokra]

It’s my own design, don’t have them in stock at the moment though

[@ghostvillage1]

I have a question about the palette box. Why you placed the hinges so that it does not fully open 180 degrees?

[@patrickokra]

Personal habit maybe - I like having the painting upright and the palette angled, it’s easier to see both, and more comfortable to paint and mix with that angle for me

[@ghostvillage1]

I also noted that the box don’t fully close. Is it due to the tension of the hinges?

[@patrickokra]

@ghostvillage1 no it fully closes, maybe I just didn’t close it in the video properly. To shut it I just give a little squeeze at the hinges rather than the top and it’s fine, and because of the tension if you squeeze at the hinges to keep the box shut, it stays shut in my backpack. If you just want to look at close up photos of the box I have them on my website

[@ghostvillage1]

Thank you so much for your help