This painting system  evolved from the "French Easel" concept of maintaining a position of Canvas above and Palette below. You still have your canvas at eye level so you can look directly back and forth from your subject matter to your painting. The palette is located at waist level with a sturdy 2 point wedge connection:  It does not wobble like the one point connection of a Pochade Box.  
     Compared to the French Easel or most other outdoor painting set ups, the Plein Air System is MUCH lighter in weight; The system weighs 4 lbs. and the tripod is 3 lbs.for a total of around 7 lbs.. Another big difference is that our system sets up in less that a minute!
     Many of the parts are made from solid oak which makes it very durable for field work and packing it for travel.  There are no complicated moving parts to break and if you accidentally lose a part it may be found in most hardware stores.
     The palette has more than twice the paint mixing space (12" by 16")  than any outdoor system but remarkably it weighs less. You can also use the inside of the wings to double your mixing room, or to use as space to lay brushes, palette knives, and other painting materials.
      The standard panel holder can accommodate panels up to twenty inches, but you may order a holder that will accommodate larger panels at no additional expense and you may also order large size clips that will accommodate stretched canvas.   
      This outdoor painting set up has been in use by many of the top plein air painters in the country for over a decade. 
     It is very affordable, nearly half that of many other popular painting set ups. The lightweight but sturdy Slik U 8000 Tripod is included in the total price!
     We now offer 2 more sizes. In addition to our STANDARD size, we now have a COMPACT and a MINI size. We have also added a new SLIK F740 tripod that is shorter and will fit into most small rolling luggage carriers and is much easier to put in or strap onto your backpack. 
     Interior dimensions for each tripod: Standard - 12x16, Compact - 9 1/2x15, Mini - 9x12.
     Maximum Panel size for each Panel Holder: Standard - 20", Compact - 16", Mini - 12".
     There is a long list of Professional artists using our Plein Air System, here are a few:
     Carol Marine   http://carolmarine.blogspot.com/  
     John Poon   http://www.johnpoon.com/
     Gavin Brooks  http://www.gavinbrooksstudio.com/
     Lynn Gertenbach  http://www.lynngertenbach.com/