Part 1: Light and Portable Painting Setups

By PAH Member Jack Kinkelaar

I did a lot of soul searching after our last pastel workshop with Mark Norseth. What is the basis of the reluctance of the participants to go out and do plein air painting at local Oahu beaches or scenic spots? I came to the conclusion that a lot of our participants do not have light portable painting setups. So I thought that over the next few newsletters, I would talk about plein air setups. This year’s Pastel Workshop with Liz Haywood Sullivan will probably be held at various places on Oahu. So if you have signed up for the workshop, now is the time to figure out your set up.

This is a picture of my plein air set up. I will be posting pictures of other set ups too.

This is Christine Ahia's box and easel.

My current setup has three components. A camera tripod, a box for my pastels that screws onto the tripod and a small metal easel that attaches to the pastel box. My first tripod came from a thrift store on Oahu. It was heavy but it worked. I suspect you can find a tripod on Craig’s list or eBay. Two things about a tripod. 1. If you can afford a carbon fiber tripod it will be lighter that a metal one and more sturdy than a plastic one. 2. If you are buying one make sure you get one that is rated for a video camera with the capability of holding at least 15 pounds (your pastel box with pastels in it is heavy). Eventually I bought a carbon fiber tripod on Amazon. My pastel box is a Heilman. These boxes are not cheap but they are well made and they do the job. My easel is also a Heilman product. You do not need the largest pastel box for plein air. Smaller is better in terms of portability. If your tripod tips because of a wind gust or unruly children or clueless visitors, a smaller box is a lot easier to pick up and put back together. You can go to Dakota Pastels or Amazon and see a bunch of pastel boxes. Helen Iaea is a great resource. I noticed that Roger Tinius has a nice portable set up. Talk to these people and learn from them so that you don’t get stuck with something that you do not like. Christine Ahia has Heilman’s small box. She loves it. Notice how small it is. She has a very limited pallet but she works within this range. Remember back when Susan Kuznitsky had our workshop and she recommended having a shallow padded Tupperware (rubbermaid or whatever) container for extra pastels. Get creative and bring the colors that you love.

I will continue this conversation in next month’s newsletter. There is so much to write about when it comes to being comfortable with your portable plein air set up.