Soltek- the ultimate plein air easel?
13 03 2008This is part 3 in a series of posts I’m writing about my quests for easels, plein air or otherwise. You can read the saga from the beginning or jump to another section here:
Part I: On the quest for the perfect easel
Part II: Guerilla Painters’ Pochade Box
Part IV: A pochade box for travel
Easel #3: The Soltek. All hail and bow down to the mother of all plein air easels! Okay, my Soltek has had its problems, but I still love this easel. The Soltek is a portable easel that seems to be in a class by itself. It is both “space age” in technical design, and extremely flexible in its configuration:
The telescoping legs fold into themselves the same way they do in a camera tripod. But unlike the pochade box/tripod combo, the Soltek is all self contained, making setup lightning fast. The legs and the overall design also make this easel extremely resistant in the wind, which is probably one of the most difficult weather conditions of all for the plein air painter.
Other features I really love about the Soltek:
- The two wings fold out on either side of the palette to allow for additional space to set brushes, paint thinner, etc. This is an especially important feature (as artists always “need” more space) and one that isn’t usually acheived on the other paint boxes I’ve seen without purchasing separate attachments and adding more weight to the setup.
- The design of the upper and lower canvas holders cover the canvas edges only minimally and flip out indidually so that you can easily cover the edges of your painting without interrupting flow.
- Versatility–it can be configured in many different ways, at many different angles. The easel will support a canvas up to 30″ high– a real plus for those who like to paint large outdoors. With this versatility, it can also function as a smaler studio easel or even a table easel if you want.
- Weight–even though you have a lot more work space, the whole configuration is sleek and weighs just 9 lbs.
Like the French easel models and the bulkier pochade boxes, this easel has space underneath the plastic palette to store brushes and paint tubes, etc (but not the standard brush cleaner containers). It has a carrying strap attached to the easel, but I still find it necessary to have a backpack or bag for additional supplies and for hiking or carrying longer distances.
While this model is thinner and sleeker than the pochade box I blogged about earlier, it is about as long and nearly as wide as a full French easel (though not nearly as deep), and I have found it difficult to locate a good backpack that will accomodate this easel while still meeting the new airline carry-on restrictions. Soltek does sell its own backpack just for this easel. It works, and you can carry it on the plane, though it could stand to be a bit better designed, with additional padding for hiking, and some better thought-out storage compartments.
But for all of Soltek’s largely wonderful features, I would never recommend that a beginning plein air painter invest in such a product, for the simple reason that it is far too expensive for a casual user. Even for the die-hard, I am hesitant to recommend it without reservation. Not only is it expensive, it’s also like a high-tech car with a lot of fancy gizmos. It takes greater care to maintain, and by methods that can sometimes be more costly and inconvenient than going to the hardware store for a wingnut.
It is advised that you keep the easel clean and free of paint, particularly in the areas of the joints and legs. For someone who gets paint in her hair every time she paints on location, this is a real challenge. And while the telescoping legs are wonderful, they also seem to give people the most problems. Mine tended to either slip (and not remain extended) or stick (unable to easily close) after after only about a year or so of moderate use. The Soltek support people suggested that this sometimes occurs when painters take the easel out onto the beach, where grains of sand get up into the legs. Only I had never taken mine to the beach or anywhere near sand.
The other issue I had was that the plastic hinges that allow the winged flaps to fold outward and remain open broke on me, also after only about a year or so. Soltek support says they now have better hinges and they did offer a couple of options. 1.) They could send me replacement hinges or 2.) I could pay $50 plus shipping to get a Soltek “tuneup” which would address both issues I was having.
Yes, you guessed it. I forked over the $50. Due to my already considerable investment, I justified the expense since I had at least a couple of rather critical things in need of repair. It was back within a couple of weeks, and has since been working fine. But for the price of this easel (which costs as much or more than some larger studio easels), I still feel these issues are not what I would have expected after 1-2 years of moderate use.
In any event, I still love it, and when working properly, it is by far the easiest in terms of setup and versatility of all the portable easels I’ve experienced. I will continue to use it as long as I can reasonably maintain it. So why would I ever need another plein air easel? Well, besides the need for a backup in case of another Soltek break down, I probably don’t. But that didn’t stop me from one more purchase. (Remember, this was before I admitted I had a problem.) I’ll cover that in the next installment.
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a very fancy easel. Plein Air or otherwise. I posted my perfect easel today. Your’s may be very sleek and all, but pound for pound mine is much less versatile.
Good setup Rick. Your printer stand with the tiles looks like a similar setup to my custom art caddy.
In any event, the easel doesn’t make the man–or the woman, or the painting, for that matter! I feel like I’ve painted using every setup imaginable. In my “Ramen Noodle” days I recall using part of a ladder rigged up with a plank of wood for a crossbar. It did the trick as a makeshift easel, but versatile it was not.
(gringo rick nilson says modestly) Good idea. I’ve got a ladder like that. And a place to put it. For those times that I want to take my perfect easel Plein Air. ( French for on my tailgate). I am going to post a picture of the second episode of my perfect easel looking Northwest towards the Wright Memorial Bridge. Across the canal in our back yard, across Avery pond and the boat launch and the Alblemarle Sound. I fashioned my easel after what you had previously posted on your site, and after purchasing Kevin Mcphearson’s Book suggested on your website. The french word your husband built made me look at my plotter stand in a different light. And the tile too. Some respected artists say to use white tile, others swear by a neutral color. Youtube. Marble or Granite don’t work. Too many viens. I have 3 different color tiles. I prefer the smoothest one. I have been asking other respected artists how things are with matters such as art shows. They have all been very clear about the types of sandwiches to serve, and the wine.
Thanks Jennifer:
I was trying to look up various easels for my nw discovery of Plein Air. I was greatful to read all three articles you had on various easels and the ups and downs you experience along the way.
Decisions, decisions, decisions….
Which ever one I choose your help made alot of difference. I know the high end one Soltech is out of reach, but I feel middle of the road is the best for me.
Thanks so much.
Eric
Eric,
Not to add confusion to your decision making process, but if you like my posts, you may also wish to check out Charlie Parker’s more recent and extensive overview of the subject.
You are most welcome. I am delighted to know you found my posts of help.
But I agree, mid-way is a fine way to start. It will give you enough quality and ease so as not to deter you from getting started by setting up too many handicaps (plein air painting is challenging enough as it is!) But don’t worry if you don’t have the “ultimate” easel from the outset. Frankly, I remain unconvinced that one yet exists. Why? Different easels are good for different circumstances. Many other plein air painters I know have accumulated more than one setup over time, based on how and where they paint.
Most importantly, get out there and do it! Enjoy your new discovery. I can assure you there will be more to come, the more you paint en plein air.
I have one French Easle, one Easyl, and two homemade pochades made from real honest to goodness wood cigar boxes. Each has a different use. The trick is to find the hardware you need to attach the box to a quick release adapter for a tripod. The adapter is available from Judson’s Guerilla Painter’s for $19.00. The other trick is to find a tripod that would collapse to a more managable length to fit into my back pack. The Silk Pro 340DX is 19 inches long and fits into most standard backpacks and weighs the same as the less compact models.
Thanks Gail. Judsons does have some nifty plein air gadgets. Regarding your tripod, how does it stand up to the wind?
I am researching pochade box easels to get off of my Julian French easle. I have been looking at the EasyL. Does anyone have advice?
I do have three professional tripods that I use with cameras and hate to purchase another one as is the case with EasyL, they come with the tripod.
Thanks for any advice. Connie
I have the “prochade” and it is well made. I’ve seen some of the other models in action and artists report good things about them. If you don’t care to have the tripod, why not contact Artwork Essentials and see if they can sell you just the box? You might also look into OpenBox M and Alla Prima Pochade boxes. They have similarities to the EasyLs and I think tripods are not included.
I look forward to reading your third email response on the best easels for plein air painting. I’m 5′2″ tall, an energetic 68 year old watercolor painter who works on WC paper lying horizontally. I use WC block paper measuring 16 X 20″ and also need room for my WC paint box which is 12 X 16″. I need a place to hang a small pail of wate.r
Presently I’m using a French full Julian which is heavy and bulky, so I’m considering buying one of the following: Soltek, EasyL Versa or Take-It Easel. Are you a WC painter and have you had experience with the last two easels in my list? Thanks for your input!
Hi Susan- Thus far, the only WC painting I do is with highly portable setups involving a block pad balanced in my lap! So I may not be the best person to ask. However, I do think both Soltek and EasyL offer accessories designed for the watercolorist, so you might check their sites for further info. Of the two, Soltek is probably the more versatile as it can be adjusted to any angle. I have no experience with the Take-it easel.
Good article. Soltek easel seems very good. Is there any way to fix the legs of the Soltek, if they develop problems like u mentioned in the article? I wouldn’t want to buy an expensive easel only to have it stop working on me, and no way to fix it. In the Uk it wouldn’t be convenient to send it back to the States for repair.Thanks, Joe
I know what you mean Joe. Frankly, having to pay for the shipping and maintentance is not all that convenient in the States either, but of course overseas shipping would be prohibitive. As for the legs, I have serviced them myself since this post when sand has gotten in them. I simply pried off the rubber feet and shot water up into the legs with a hose, swishing the water by retracting and extending the legs as I did so. I don’t know if this will work for all “leg sticking or sliding” problems though, because they must malfunction for other reasons. I know the sliding problem I was having was only fixed after I sent it in for a tuneup. But ithe hose worked reasonably well to get rid of the sand. Presently, the legs don’t retract and extend as smoothly as they once did, but at least they are functional. Probably your best bet is to put your questions and concerns to the manufacturer. They are fairly responsive to inquiries and may have improved the model since I purchased mine (several years ago.) You might check with them about a warranty too. I don’t recall them having one but maybe they offer one now.
I’m a novice plein aire painter, going to France in a few weeks. Weight and bulk are a problem, so the Soltek easel is attractive. However, with the difference in price and the high maintenance I’m going to take my pochade box and tripod.
However, if the simple purchase of a Soltek easel would make me a painter of Wilcox’s skill overnight … pas de question! A good artist demands excellent tools but expensive tools do not an outstanding artist make.