Poor Man's Easel

I jerryrigged a poor-man's easel for the last two paintings. I set my stool up on a sturdy coffee table and propped up a Masonite panel I had on hand. For the first painting I did, I propped a couple of weights in front of the panel to keep it from slipping when I worked on the canvas. The second canvas was a little large for that ~ it kept slipping backward, pushing the stool with it ~ or sliding forward, nearly off the edge of the table. So, I found a short box, set the stool in it, weighted the box with books, and clamped a piece of wood to the table for a ledge in front. It worked well.

I've also used a drawer in a big cabinet I have, pulling it out and propping the canvas on top of it, letting the canvas lean against the cabinet. That worked pretty well.

I did have an easel that I built myself. The tray was adjustable, with a clamping knob. But, that easel is large and unhandy. It takes up so much room in my crowded domain. I would trip over it, knocked it over a time or two, which wasn't easy considering the size and weight! Also, I had used scrap wood, and made a mistake on the main piece of lumber, the "mast" so to speak ~ it was a warped piece of wood, which meant the canvas didn't sit flat against it, and tended to bounce a little as I worked on it. I've got it stored somewhere right now. This other table-top easel that I've devised will work fine for these smallish canvases, at least for awhile...