Sculpture
Stands
Standing
Easels: Standing easels come in many formats. There
are lightweight telescoping aluminum easels perfect for carrying
to a studio class or on a backpacking trip, others meant for
traveling that have drawers to hold paints and brushes, heavy
studio easels of steel and cast iron, and substantial wooden
easels meant to be a permanent piece of "furniture" in your
studio. There are even wall mounted easels that keep your
floor space clear. Some easels fold down so small and light
that they can reside in a closet when not in use. The
Art Box carries a collection of easels to meet the
varied needs of today's artists.
Table Easels:
There is an enormous range in the price and quality
of table easels. Some are meant for occasional or once a year
painters who only need a convenient way to prop up a small
painting. These may be found in the range of $20.00. Other
table easels are sturdy, elaborate contraptions, meant for
the full time artist who works in a relatively small format.
Some of these have pull out drawers and lots of adjustments
that can be used to control the angle at which you work. The
Art Box carries a variety of table easels to meet
the different needs of artists.
Metal Watercolor
Boxes: Schmincke's German made, metal watercolor
boxes are the wonderful sturdy boxes you may remember from
your youth. Or perhaps you knew an artist who had one. These
boxes are meant to hold cake watercolors in half pan or full
pan sizes. There are sizable mixing surfaces incorporated
into the box. If you like cake watercolors, you will love
these boxes. The Art Box carries several different
styles.
Wood Palettes:
The Art Box carries traditional oval beechwood palettes
in three sizes. Great for oil and acrylic painting, they let
you carry your paint with you as you move around the easel.
They can be scraped off and reused. If desired, a thin coat
of shellac can be applied to the surface to keep the wood
from pulling the moisture out of the paint. They can also
be quite inexpensive, starting at about $7.00.
Porcelain
Palettes: Most porcelain palettes are used for watercolor.
The classic "slant" palette has 5 or 6 wells for color mixing
that slope gently creating a shallow and a deep end to each
well. This gives the artist a way to mix color, and then a
way to drain the brush slightly so as not to drip on the paper.
Tube paint can be squeezed onto the shallow end and coaxed
slowly into the deep end until just the right color is reached.
Other porcelain palettes are more like small divided vegetable
dishes, each holding its own color. Porcelain palettes have
largely been replaced by plastic versions in most stores,
primarily because of the price difference, but the weight
of the porcelain palettes still makes them very appealing.
Unlike the plastic palettes, they are unlikely to tip or get
knocked off the table if you bump them slightly. The
Art Box has found a Chinese line of very reasonably
priced porcelain palettes that brings them back within the
grasp of most artists.
Plastic Palettes:
By and large, plastic palettes are lightweight, inexpensive
versions of the traditional porcelain shapes. Because they
are so inexpensive, they can almost be considered disposable.
It doesn't seem to matter if they don't clean up completely,
or if they tip a bit when you knock them. Starting at $1.25,
they fill the bill for most artists. There are a few plastic
palettes that could not be better if they were made of pure
gold. The Lock Box is one of those palettes.
This round clear plastic box contains sheets of disposable
palette paper on which the artist can lay oil or acrylic paint.
At the end of the day you close up the box, and the enclosed
air space is small enough to keep the paint from drying. Compressed
sponges are included to help acrylic paint retain moisture.
If you prefer watercolor, there is a divided plastic tray
that fits right into the system and although not completely
watertight, it certainly helps contain the paint on the bumpy
ride home. Can you tell that this is our favorite plastic
palette? It sells for about $20.00. The Art Box
carries a wide range of plastic palettes.
Folding Palettes:
These traveling palettes for watercolor artsists
make it easy to take your paint into the field or on a vacation.
The smallest ones that The Art Box carries
are very lightweight and compact, while the biggest open to
quite a substantial size where a large array of colors can
be mixed.
Glass Palettes:
Glass palettes are simply a slab of polished plate
glass with little feet that help you pick it up off the table.
They are used to mix oil or acrylic paint. They clean up very
well, and have a substantial weight so they don't slide around
on the table. The Art Box carries glass palettes
in three sizes.
Disposable
Palettes: Disposable palettes come in a number of
variations. Most are thin sheets of coated paper bound into
pads of different sizes. Oil or acrylic paint is squeezed
onto the surface and mixed to the desired consistency or color.
When the artist is finished painting, the sheet is simply
torn off the pad, balled up and thrown away. If you need more
area for mixing, you can always pull another sheet out and
double your space. Other disposable palettes are made of a
posterboard weight material with a silicone treated surface.
These can actually be scraped off and reused quite a bit,
and when left attached to their pad, can be carried around
in the same way as a traditional wood palette. The weight
of each sheet helps to keep it in place as the artist lifts
the paint from the palette. The thin sheets have a tendency
to lift with the paint and move around quite a bit. The
Art Box carries pads of disposable palettes in a
variety of sizes and weights.
Sculpture
Stands: Sculpture stands are basically lazy susans.
They come in plastic or metal, tabletop or standing versions.
Some have an arm rest to steady your hand while carving or
painting. Prices range from $13.00 to over $300.00 depending
on weight, size and quality. The Art Box
carries a variety of small stands in stock, and special orders
larger models.
