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Chances are you have some sort of easel in your home: It may be something like a fancy metal floor easel to display prominent artwork or a small wrought iron easel holding a china plate or cherished book.

When I looked up "easel," I found tiny wooden craft easels, folding easels, children's easels, and every sort of artist easel you can imagine: French easels, rotating easels, standing easels, table easels, wooden or metal, portable or stationary, large or small, heavy or light.

Which brings me to today's topic: my favorite easel for watercolor painting.

I've had a number of questions about the unique easels that I use when painting... Wise Easels (yes, I have more than one).

Bill Wise creates his portable tabletop easels in small batches in his garage in two sizes. The smaller easel is 16 x 12" which will fit in carry-on luggage. The large tabletop easel is 22 x 14" which I can tuck into my portfolio when traveling, and would likely fit into a large suitcase.

From his website: Both easels have the ability to raise your paintings off the table in 2" increments. They adjust from nearly vertical to approx 4" off the table. I provide short nails for those painting on thin 1/8-1/4" support boards. I also include longer nails for painting on thicker supports like Gator board...*

The small William Wise Portable Tabletop Easel (above) easily holds a painting up to a half sheet. Watch how the easel works in the two-minute video below:

I hope you'll check out Bill's website, not only to learn more about his easels, which I highly recommend, but to check out his art and articles. Plus, his easel page has a short video by a satisfied customer, yours truly!

Paint. Love. Repeat.

*William Wise Easels