Watercolour Painting with a Harbron Easel

Harbron easels can easily be adapted for watercolour painting. Here's how...

To work with watercolour on a Harbron easel you will need an additional support in the form of an easel board. This is simply a rigid surface upon which you can mount your paper before placing into the easel as you would a panel or canvas. Here are some suggestions to make an easel board:

Recycle an old canvas board.


I have repurposed some old Winsor & Newton canvas boards by carefully removing the unwanted canvas, scraping away any glue residue, and lightly sanding the surface to finish. It is a ten minute job and provides a good surface that is robust enough to resist warping, and can be used time and again. 

Source a hardwood drawing board


When I was a young teenager, my grandparents gave me a lovely A3 portfolio with a hardwood drawing board inside. I continue to use the drawing board today, whilst the portfolio contains the lovely watercolour sketches they left behind. The board is 6mm thick and despite decades of abuse, has not warped. I don't know what wood it is. I have taken this board for granted, but reflecting on it now, I have tremendous affection for it. The board sits very well in my standard tripod easel. Be aware that some drawing boards appear to be as thick as chopping boards! The maximum thickness you can securely clamp to the Harbron easel is 9mm.

Order a panel cut to size


If you cannot find anything to repurpose, then consider sourcing MDF or acrylic sheets cut to size. These are widely available online, though I would source the MDF from your local DIY supplier, so that you can be sure that the surface is perfectly straight. You can get away with 3mm sheets if you are working small, but ultimately, 6mm is better. MDF can be a bit fragile at the corners and should be handled with care. 

Watercolour set-up


Here is an example of how I set-up my Harbron easel for watercolour painting (above). I have tilted the tripod head back so that the easel is almost horizontal. I have placed my tripod shelf on the right side of the tripod so that I can stand over my painting surface (I am right-handed). I have not taped the paper to the easel board, because I'm using a watercolour block so I can get away with clamping it to the board. 


The Harbron easel is available as a plein air kit for watercolour artists, which includes a Harbron Compact Easel, a Harbron Tripod Shelf, and a Harbron MDF Easel Board. Details here.

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