Sure easels are the answer to keeping your work sturdy and grounded but what’s the difference between an A and a H Frame easel? In this guide to Mont Marte easels, we’ve taken the guesswork out of easel shopping so you can find the perfect match for your next creative project and make finding your next easel a whole lot easier!
A Frame
If you have limited space, the A frame easel might be for you. The A frame or lyre easel, has a triangular shape like an “A” with three legs making it easy to store in cupboards, closets or against a wall. Because of their three legs, A frame easels aren’t as sturdy as their H frame friends, but the A frame is still a great option for medium sized projects and they’re a great storage saver too.
Size:
Mont Marte Student Easel Signature 122cm (48 inch) high. This easel can hold a canvas 120cm (47.2 inch) high. This easel height is great for students or for seated work.
Mont Marte Floor Easel with Tilt Signature 240cm (94 inch) high. This easel can hold a canvas 120cm (47.2 inch) high.
Material:
Student Easel Signature: Pine wood
Floor Easel with Tilt Signature: Beech wood
H Frame
It’ll probably come as no surprise that the H frame easels got its name because it’s shaped like a H. This easel is super sturdy thanks to its four legs and they’re great for tackling larger works. Although these easels take up more room compared to the A frame easel, H frames can come with castors to move around the studio. Some H frame easels have handy trays to keep your creative tools in reach and are easily adjustable to suit your projects.
Size:
Mont Marte Large Studio Easel with Castors Signature 150cm – 240cm (59 - 94 inches) high. This easel can hold a canvas 122cm (48 inch) high.
Mont Marte tilting studio easel Signature 227cm - 370cm (89.4 - 145.7 inches) high. Working height when laid flat 92cm (36 inch). This easel can hold a canvas 205cm (80 inch) high.
Material:
Large Studio Easel with castors Signature: Beech wood
Tilting studio easel Signature: Beech wood
Tripod
Introducing the travelling easel. Tripod easels are light-weight, portable, easy to assemble and fold away once you’re finished, so if you’re working outdoors, on site or on the go, this is the easel for you. The Mont Marte Field Easel includes a handy carry case, making it a great travelling companion too. Because of their three legs, tripod easels can get a little wobbly, so be sure to ground your easel on an even surface or use a heavy item to keep the legs from wobbling if you’re painting or drawing, on the go.
Size:
Mont Marte Field Easel Signature 185cm (72.8 inches) high (once extended). This easel can hold a canvas 90cm (35.4 inches) high.
Mont Marte Tripod Easel Signature 180cm (71 inches) high (once extended). This easel can hold a canvas 101cm (40 inches) high.
Material:
Field Easel Signature: Lightweight, aluminium.
Tripod Easel Signature: Pine wood
French Box
The French box easel might cost a lot more than a tripod easel, but these easels are sturdier in comparison. The French box easel is favoured for plein air painting because of its tripod design and built in, handy wooden drawer to keep creative tools al in the one place. The French box easel has three legs and can be easily folded and assembled for on the go creating.
Size:
Mont Marte French Box Easel Signature 180cm (70.8 inch) high. This easel can hold a canvas 85cm (33.46 inch) high.
Mont Marte French Box Easel Extra Large Signature 144cm -183cm (56 – 72 inches) high. This easel holds a canvas 90cm (35.5 inch) high.
Material:
French Box Easel Signature: Sustainably sourced pinewood
French Box Easel Extra Large Signature: Beech wood
Single Mast
Like the A frame easel, a single mast easel is also a great space saver. The single mast is supported by two flat feet and it’s adjustable to suit medium to large sized projects. When it comes to Mont Marte easels, our Big Red easel is fully adjustable allowing it to move both vertically and horizontally.
Size:
Mont Marte Big Red Easel Beech Artiste: 178 - 250cm (70-98 inches) high. This easel can hold a canvas up to 180cm (70.9 inch) high.
Material:
Artiste Big Red Easel Beech Artiste: Beech wood with a polished rose wood finish
Convertible Easels
If mixed media is more your style, a convertible easel might be a better fit. Our convertible easel has a multiple angle recline and a pivot tilt, so the easel can be converted vertically for painting and horizontally for watercolour or drawing. Move it horizontally like a drawing board then move it vertically to become an easel again.
Size:
Mont Marte Convertible Studio Easel Signature: 137 - 223cm (53.9 - 87.7 inches) high. This easel can hold a canvas up to 152cm (59.8 inch) high.
Material:
Beech wood
Creative Art Stations
Mont Marte Creative art stations are the easels of the drawing and craft world. These stations are fully adjustable to suit your favourite working position whether you prefer to work seated or standing. Plus, they have a handy built-in studio tidy, to keep all of your creative tools in the one place. So, whether you’re a keen drawer, architect, or working with large scale projects like mapping and drafting, this one’s for you.
Size:
Mont Marte Desktop Creative Station Signature: 18 - 59cm (7.1 - 23.2 inches) high. This creative art station has an area of 90 x 60cm (35.4 x 23.6 inches).
Mont Marte Creative Art Station Signature: 69.2 - 137.5cm (27.2 – 54.13 inches) high.
This creative art station has an area of 102.5 x 60cm (40.35 – 23.62 inches).
Material:
steel construction
Mini Easels
Challenge yourself to a mini project or use them as place holders or display signs at an exhibition or an event. Though these mini easels might be small, they’re still big in quality and are made from the same beech wood as their taller friends. The Mont Marte mini display easels also come with a pre-primed canvas so they’re ready to get creating when you are.
Size:
Mont Marte Mini Display Easel with Canvas Signature : 11.5cm (4.5 inch) high. This easel holds a 6cm x 8cm (2.4 x 3.1 inches) canvas.
Mont Marte Mini Display Easel with Canvas Signature: 15cm (5.9 inch) high. This easel holds an 8 x 10cm (3.1 x 3.9 inches) canvas.
Mont Marte Display Easel Small Signature: 30cm (11.8 inch) high. This easel holds a 30cm (11.8 inch) canvas.
Mont Marte Tabletop Display Easel Medium Signature: 40cm (15.7 inch) high. This easel holds a 40cm (15.7 inch) canvas.
Material:
Beech wood
Tabletop
If you’ve got limited space or small-scale projects and looking for a portable easel, you’ll find a tabletop easel to be your perfect match. This type of Mont Marte easel is great for those looking for support for smaller projects or drawings, an at-home paint and sip experience, or for those who’d rather not spend a whole heap of money on an easel but still love creating. Plus, some feature a handy built-in drawer for supplies so you can keep all your tools in close reach.
Size:
Mont Marte Tabletop Box Easel Desk Signature: 42 - 69cm (16.5-27 inches) high. This easel can hold a canvas up to 86cm (24 inch) high.
Mont Marte Tabletop Box Easel Large Signature: 46cm (18.1 inch) high. This easel can hold a canvas up to 70cm (27.6 inch) high.
Mont Marte Tabletop Easel Small Signature: 60cm (23.62 inch) high. This easel can hold a canvas up to 58cm (22.8 inch) high.
Mont Marte Tabletop Easel with Drawer Signature: 27cm (10.62 inch) high. This easel can hold a canvas up to 40cm (15.7 inch) high.
Mont Marte Tabletop Easel with wings Signature: 36cm (14.17 inch) high. This easel can hold canvas up to 50cm (20 inch) high.
Beech wood
Tabletop Easel with wings: aluminium
Display Easels
Showing off your next artwork? Our display easels are great for artists looking to show off their work! Although display easels aren’t typically as sturdy as studio easels, (they’re more to look the part), these three-legged easels usually have a simple design so that all eyes are on your masterpiece, rather than a fancy easel.
Size:
Mont Marte Floor Display Easel Discovery: 156 - 172 cm (61.5 - 67.7 inches) high. This easel can hold a canvas up to 122cm (48 inch) high.
Pine wood
Positioning
The best way to position your easel once it’s home or in the studio, is to have the light behind you, and over your left shoulder for right handers, and right shoulder for lefties. This will give you the best lighting and stop any of those pesky shadows getting in the way of your work.
Take care
Wooden easels can be treated using furniture oil or wax polish to keep the wood fresh. Light oil can also be used on the wing screws, and it’ll make easels easier to open.
Movement
You might experience a slight movement between the canvas and the easel. To reduce this movement, pop your canvas on the easel and then make sure all the wing screws are tight, especially the floor brakes, this will help stabilise the easel. The castors (wheels) also have a lockable function, so be sure to lock them before painting.
We hope that breaks down any confusion when it comes to our range of Mont Marte easels. Share your creative space with us #montmarteart or tag us @montmarteart on Instagram or Facebook, we’d love to see it!
