Studio business - Easels.

A bit of a confession here; I have a bit of a thing for easels, especially MABEF easels!

I have several studio easels, all of them are used regularly, including three MABEF's. My main easel is the Mabef M18. It's a substantial piece of furniture and holds a large canvas with ease. It also folds horizontally to form a table, which is surprisingly useful for all sorts of things; varnishing, mixed media work, controlling expressionistic techniques etc. I use a smaller Mabef M09 for most of my landscape work as it's a perfect size for smaller panels or canvas. I also have a Mabef M11 which is normally used nowadays as either an exhibition easel, or as a 'viewing' easel. MABEF easels are works of art in their own right and there is something about using a work of art to produce works of art that resonates! They are rock solid, dependable and fit for purpose...I love them!

I also have a Winsor & Newton studio easel. I'm not sure of the model. It's ok, but nowhere near the quality of the Mabef's. I use it occasionally but intend to clean it down & use it as an exhibition easel as despite it's size, it is lightweight, so would travel well. I also have around a dozen or so desk easels, which I use for display at exhibition's. Most are the Winsor & Newton Eden models, for the simple reason that there are lots about & they can be bought very reasonably. It's also good to have matching easels at an exhibition for purely aesthetic reasons.

A decent easel is much more than simply a substrate support. They can be surprisingly inspiring, and thus become part of the creative process. Now...how to get a MABEF M04?