New Ultimate Plein Air Gear Video

My students always tell me how much they love the part of my workshops when I go through my plein air gear.  With so many gear options to choose from, it can be daunting to take the leap and try plein air painting.

So, after months of filming and editing, I have released a full-featured, 38 minute long video where I show you everything I take in my pack to paint on location in oils.

Now everyone has access to this part of my workshops without the cost of actually attending a workshop.  And...I'm making the video very inexpensive so anyone can afford it!  After all, my goal is to create more joy in our world by creating beautiful art and teaching others how to do the same.  With the information in this video, you'll have the courage and confidence to experience the joy of plein air painting.

"From backpacks to brushes, paints to pochade boxes, and everything in between!"

Click the link below to learn all about the video and to purchase it if you so choose.

Click here for more info --->  Scott's Ultimate Plein Air Gear Video

How To Make A Wet Panel Carrier

Here's a quick tutorial showing how you can make a wet panel carrier from basic materials.

Materials I used to make this box which fits (4) 8"x10" painting panels :
1.5"x3/4" pine or poplar or oak board that's 28" long at a minimum.
2pcs 1/8" MDF board about 9"x12" (you will need to cut it down to size later)
Wood glue
18-20 Small brad type nails.
Hammer, table saw.

Step #1 Cut the channels / slots
Using a table saw, cut channels in the 1.5"x3/4" length of wood.  The channels should be about 1/8" deep and about one and a half widths of the saw blade.  This allows enough room for the painting panels to slide freely in these channels / slots.  Try to space four slots equally across the long face of the wood.  You want enough gap between slots so your wet paintings won't touch.

Step #2 Cut the slotted 1.5"x3/4" into the two side lengths and one length for the bottom:
By cutting the channels first, while the board is in one length and then chopping that board into the sides and bottom, you ensure the slots align perfectly.  You'll understand this when you assemble it!

Step #3 Layout the sides and bottom pieces with the channels and attach the 1/8" MDF panels for sides.
Now remember, if you want a carrier that holds 8x10" panels, have a few on hand and make all your measurements and cuts so the panels will fit perfectly into the channels.

I used wood glue and small nails (I actually used small brads since I have a nail gun) to attach the MDF to the 1.5" wood with the channels.  You can put a couple of 8x10 panels in the carrier and use clamps to hold the unit together while glueing up to be sure the unit is square and will hold your panels.

Step #4 Cut and fit the lid.

The lid is another piece of the 1.5" wide wood, but only 1/4" thick.  It has no grooves since the painting panels will slide down into the box and be flush with the bottom-side of the lid.  It is cut to fit exactly into the top recess in the box.  I also sanded the bottom edge where the lid pivots against the box...this inside edge needs to be rounded off so the lid can open and close easily without catching on the box.

To attach the lid, I drilled a hole through each sidee of the box, into the side edges of the lid (which I held in it's final, closed position, while drilling).  I inserted a small nail into each of these holes as a hinge.

Step #5 Final sanding

Once the box is assembled I sand the outside edges of the closed box lightly so all edges are flush and slightly rounded to the box feels and looks nice.

Step #6 Stain and seal

Finally, I added a red stain to the sides and then applied polyurethane to all of the outside surfaces.  You can omit the stain if you want but I do suggest sealing the wood with polyurethane to protect it.

How To Make a Paint Box and Panel Support - Part III

In this third and final post, I'll show you how to make the panel holder which secures your painting surface to your tripod.

The wooden contraption holding my painting is the panel holder

Material list:

•   (1) 1"x2"x4' piece of oak or similar hard wood.
•   (1) 1/4"-20x5/16" T-Nut.
•   (1) 1/4" x 1.25" long carriage bolt.
•   (1) 1/4" female thumb screw head.
•   (1) Metal washer to fit around the 1/4" bolt.
•   (2) Small 3/4" nails and some wood glue (to attach the bottom ledge to the main body).

I bought all the parts at my local Home Depot but you can find the wood at most lumber yards and the hardware at ACE hardware or other hardware stores.

Required tools:

• Fine toothed hand saw
• Table saw
• Drill
• 3/4" spade drill bit
• 3/8" regular drill bit
• 1/4" regular drill bit
• Hammer

The main component of my holder is the 1"x2", 4' long piece of oak.  The actual size is .5"x1.5"x4'.  I chose oak because it is a rigid hard wood that will stand up to some abuse but you can use whatever you want.

Process:

1. Cut this 4' piece of oak into the following lengths:

• (1) 24" piece for the main body
• (1) 4" piece for the bottom ledge
• (1) 6" piece for the top support 

2. With your table saw, plunge cut a slot lengthwise down the center of the 24" piece.  The slot must be a little wider than 1/4" so the bolt you will run through it can move along the length easily.  This is a tricky and dangerous cut to make and you should not attempt it if you are not trained and familiar with this type of cut on a table saw.  The slot should start about 3" down from the top and end 3.5" up from the bottom of the 24" main body piece.

3.  With a 3/4" spade drill bit, drill a hole halfway through the main body piece, 2" up from the bottom.  Center this hole on the 1.5" width of the board.  Then, switch to a 3/8" standard drill bit and drill a hole in the center if this 3/4" hole that goes the rest of the way through the board.  This is where you will mount the T-Nut in the next step.

4. Insert the 1/4" T-Nut into the hole you just drilled.  The T-Nut has four spines that you want to drive into the wood so it will not turn when you attach the tripod mount to it.  You can set the T-Nut in place by hammering it down with a small block of wood or dowel.  It should be recessed into the 3/4" hole you drilled.

5. Angle your table saw blade to cut a 15 degree bevel along one long edge of the 4" and 6" pieces.  This bevel will help hold on to your painting panel.

6. Attach the 4" bottom ledge piece perpendicular to the 24" main body piece with the bevel edge facing up (see picture).  Attach it to the bottom end of the 24" piece, just below the T-Nut.  I put some glue on it and then nailed it to the 24" piece.  You want to make sure this 4" piece is at a 90 degree angle to the 24" piece.  This 4" piece is what supports the bottom of your painting panel.

7. Drill a 1/4" hole all the way through the 6" top support piece...centering the hole 3" from either end.

8. Coat all the wood pieces with polyurethane.  This will protect the wood, waterproof it and make it easier to clean.

9. To attach the top support piece to the main body, insert the 1/4" carriage bolt through the slot on the 24" board from the back then through the hole you drilled in the 4" top support piece.  The bolt should protrude 1/4".  Place the washer over the end of the bolt sticking out and then screw on the thumb screw head.  You can now adjust this top support up and down the main body and use the thumb screw to tighten it down.

10. Screw on the tripod mounting bracket that came with your tripod to the T-Nut from the backside of the panel holder.

11. Attach the holder to your tripod.

12. Now you can secure a painting panel to the holder by adjusting the top support to accommodate whatever panel size you are using.

 

Here's a closeup of the bottom end of the holder.

1/4"-20x5/16" T-Nut

The top support assembly

My camera to tripod mounting bracket attached to the T-Nut on the backside of the panel holder.

So, now that you know how to make one, unless you love woodworking, save yourself the hassle and buy the whole setup from James Coulter at http://artboxandpanel.com/.  I don't know James and get no profit from this but I'm telling you, you can get the palette and panel carrier and even a tripod from him for a great price and he makes a great product.

Now get out there and paint!

How To Make a Paint Box and Panel Support - Part II

This is the second in a series of posts on how to make your own portable painting palette and panel holder for plein air painting. 

After staining and coating the panels with 2-3 coats of polyurethane the next step is to attach the side trays to the center palette with some hinges.  I clamped the side tray/lid pieces to the center palette in their closed position then placed the hinges where I wanted them and drilled pilot holes for their screws.  Repeat this for the tray on the opposite side.

Once the hinges are in place I stuck one vinyl feet/bumper next to each hinge as shown below.  These provide a stop for the side trays to rest against when in the open position (second picture below).  This is important to ensure the side trays don't open past 180º.... because if they do then anything you rest on them (turps, brushes, cellphone) will slide off!

Now you need some way to attach your new paint box to your tripod.  I cut two "L" shapes out of 3/4" plywood (I'll call these the "hooks" from now on).  Since each tripod is different I suggest you hold up your new paint box to your tripod to get an idea of how big the hooks should be and where on your paint box they should be mounted.

Once the hooks are cut out you will need to drill a hole through them and into the side of the palette portion of the paint box.  I used a 1/4" threaded bolt that is 3" long to attach my hooks.  Therefore, I drilled a 1/4" hole through the hook and palette (see below).

Now these 1/4"x3" bolts will need to screw into something.  So, I decided to use a product called a "T-Nut" pictured below.  Basically, these are female threaded parts that have four spikes that bite into the wood and provide a strong hold.

I inserted one T-Nut into each of the 1/4" holes just drilled.  Insert them from the INSIDE of the palette and then use a C-Clamp to push the spikes on the T-Nut into the wood.

Now go ahead and thread the bolts through the hooks and screw them into the holes with T-nuts on the palette.

Now, take the palette box to a glass store and have them cut a piece of glass to fit inside the palette.  Cutting glass is easy and if you have a cutter and feel comfortable doing it then just pick up a piece of glass from the hardware store and cut it yourself.  You don't want the glass to fit too tightly or you risk breaking it.  I left a 1/32" gap around the perimeter of the glass.

I then took some grey oil paint straight from the tube and smeared it on the perimeter of the glass surface filling the gap between the glass and palette box and leaving a thin coating on about 1" of the glass.  I took a straight edge razor blade to scrape off excess paint from the glass and leave this nice straight edge before the paint dried.  This coat of paint serves two purposes - 1. filling the gap so paint and mineral spirits don't seep under the glass and 2. providing a surface for the puddles of paint to grip to so they don't slide across the slick glass.  Let this paint dry thoroughly before you start using the palette.

And here's how your paint box / palette should look when open! 

One other note:  I counter-sunk magnets into the ends of the side trays (pictured below).  When you close the trays the magnets pull together and keep the box closed and when the trays are in the open position, the magnets are a great place to stick your palette knife to.  I bought the magnets then drilled a shallow hole the same size for the magnet to sit in.  I then used a two part epoxy to glue the magnets into the holes. These "earth magnets" are strong so you need epoxy to keep them from pulling out when they stick to one another.  Magnets are a nice touch but are optional.  You could use a clasp or some other type of simple latch to keep the box closed when transporting.

That completes the palette / paint box.  In my next post I will show you how to make the painting panel support.

Closed palette box shown here hanging from my tripod

How To Make An Inexpensive Paint Box and Panel Holder for Plein Air Painting - Part I

Ok, so here's a way to make a very functional, nice looking paint box and panel holder for under $80 bucks.  This is the type of setup I hook on to my tripod for painting plein air.

This paint box and panel holder can be made inexpensively and relatively quickly.  However, you will need to use a table saw, hand saw, drill and electric sander.  Please be sure you follow all safety recommendations for these tools...it is much harder to paint if you cut off your hands.

You can buy this type of setup already made from James Coulter and I highly recommend you do so because he makes great product and you won't have to labor over it to save a few bucks.  I however, happen to enjoy woodworking and love to customize stuff to my needs so I made my own.  Remember the adage: Do as I say, not as I do.

Here is a photo of the finished palette box and panel holder:

To make this project as easy as possible I'm using two Blick brand cradled panels for the palette box; one becomes the mixing palette and the other is cut in half to become the side trays / lid.

In this case I used 11"x14" panels but 9"x12" would make a nice box too.

The panels are shown below...the one on the right is in its wrapping still and you are seeing the front surface.  The one on the left has been unwrapped and I'm showing the back side here.  Note, when I took this photo I had already applied a grey paint to the inside of the back which I will discuss more below.

Cutting your panel
Take one of the panels and measure out and mark a point exactly half way along the long edge.  (14" long panel, so 7" is the midpoint - you're welcome.)  Cut this one panel in half at the midpoint mark you made.  You can use a handsaw but the table saw will give a precise cut.

The one panel after being cut in half

The photo below shows how the two halves will be oriented on either side of the second panel.  The second panel is NOT cut in half since it becomes the center of your palette box.  The backside of this panel becomes the palette where you will squirt out your colors and mix paint while painting.

One note: when you cut the first panel in half, if you used a table saw, the blade removed 1/8" of wood.  So, when you put the two halves back together they now measure approximately 13 7/8".  You will need to trim 1/8" of an inch off of the outside short edge of the remaining panel so it measures      11"x13 7/8".  That will make this bottom palette the same size as the two halves put together since they will become the lid to the palette when closed.  Sorry if that's confusing :-(

I prefer my palette be a mid-tone grey to help me better judge color mixes.  Therefore, I used some grey oil paint to tone this palette.  Simply paint it on the inside back surface and rub it in a bit with a cloth to  remove the excess  paint and reveal a bit of the wood grain.

The center palette with the two "wings" set out on either side.

Sanding, staining and coating with polyurethane

The cradled panels come nicely sanded but you might need to smooth the edges from the cut you made.  Just lightly sand the cut edges with 150 grit sandpaper so any splinters are removed.

Now, blow or wipe away all dust from the surfaces to prepare the wood for stain.  To customize the look, I chose to first stain the outside perimeter with a stain (red in this case).  This is optional...skip it if you want and just use the polyurethane.  After the stain had dried overnight I put a coat of polyurethane on all surfaces EXCEPT the grey palette surface that has oil paint on it.  The polyurethane probably won't stick to the oil paint and I will be putting a piece of glass on it later anyway.  You will have to apply the poly to one side of the panel at a time so that can dry before you flip them over to coat the other side.  The first coat of polyurethane will take a day to dry since it is soaking into the wood.  Subsequent coats will dry in six hours or less (depending on the temp and humidity).  I put three coats of polyurethane on. 

Here are the products I used:

Stay tuned for part II where we will cut some more pieces and assemble the box!

My Homemade Pochade Box - Video

Painting en plein air forces quick decisions and makes me to paint instead of over-thinking everything.  When I decided to paint outside in earnest, I researched Pochade box options and decided I could make my own, custom box....a downside of having to be creative in every aspect of my life.  Although it took longer to make and cost more than I thought, I have a nice kit for oil painting outdoors.

Later, I'll post links to sources that inspired the design.

Let me know what you think.

Scott