Thirsty birds
Posted: April 13, 2021 Filed under: Uncategorized 32 CommentsI’m trying out a new easel that arrived yesterday from Cup Easels. I’ve been eyeing this one for a while and decided to buy it because it’s so perfect for gouache and watercolour. To try it out, I attached it to my Sirui tripod and raised it quite high. It has a perfect little mixing area for gouache or watercolour, and also this little tray for the paints that comes with a cover so that the gouache does not dry out in between outings. There’s a tiny water cup too, but I attached a bigger cup below the palette using the convenient holes and a couple of carabiners. This easel is also quite small so I could definitely use it on my lap or in my car. I love how close the mixing surface is to the sketchbook.
I sketched a view through to my neighbour’s yard where lots of thirsty birds dropped by to have a drink in the bird bath. This spring has been quite dry, so after my sketch was done I put out my bird baths too.
Shari Blaukopf's Sketchbook 
This looks like a perfect setup for doing small paintings in a sketchbook. How much room does it take when you pack it up?
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It’s really small. I haven’t measured but it seems to be about 9″ x 9″. And very light.
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Wow… It looks like an awesome easel. Lovely painting.
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Thanks so much Cindy!
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Sent from my iPhone Hi Sheri, I am an ardent fan and student(Craftsy)of yours Also I am recipient of your emails. I too have a cup easel. As my photo shows I found taller plastic cups both at Michael’s and Hobby Lobby that would fit into the hole in my easel. If you cannot find them where you are I will send you a couple. They are cheap and work perfectly. I can easily refill them from my water bottle when the water gets too dirty. Let me know if you would like for me to send you a couple of them-malinda.anderson@cox.net. Thanks for all the fun you email me. Malinda >
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Malinda, that is such a nice offer!! I will definitely look for taller cups and if I can’t find anything I will let you know. Much appreciated!!
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I love mine too and what a nice company. Glad to see it. I find the little shelf they make useful too. I love the light in this painting.
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Would you recommend this easel? It looks good and I saw that they have a “lefty” easel which is intriguing.
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I’ve only used it a few times but so far, so good. I really like it. And I know a lot of people who use it and love it. So yes, I would recommend it. It’s well made, light, compact and very practical.
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I appreciate your recommendation of the cup easel. Right now, it’s out of my budget but I’m going to put this on file for future reference and perhaps purchase.I sure would like to condense all my supplies and this looks like a great answer.
The bird bath painting is lovely! I have never worked with gouache but you make me more and more inclined to give it a try.
Thanks for such an informative post today….as always.
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Hi Bernadette. There are so many people who make their own easels and I am sure it is much more economical. But I don’t have the right tools and if I bought them it would cost more than the easel. So I use the ready-made versions. I am happy that this is a Canadian product too, plus the owner of the company was a former student of someone I know. So I am happy to support him. He has a good product!
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What an intriguing design. Looks very clever. I checked out their website. Excellent info (including answers to most of the questions raised here) and a helpful video of it in use. And Made in Canada. Really interesting. Thanks for reviewing it.
Oh, and your sketch is intriguing as well. I really like the depth and the feeling of sneezing a peek at the bird bath.
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Yes, a really good product, and Canadian!! So happy to have this and support him.
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Love your painting Shari and what a wonderful, little easel. I have seen it advertised and was very much interested. I have a UGo easel which is similar, but doesn’t have any of the accessories and the paint tray is really nice to have there. May have to consider this one as
well! Enjoy!
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Marilyn, I don’t know that easel but I will have a look. Not that I need another easel!! I already have too many but each one has a purpose!
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You are so right Shari! I have too many as well, but as you say, each one has a purpose and there are so many improvements! I love painting birds as well and hope to do more plein air painting as I live next to a large county park with so much to paint!
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Good Afternoon dear friend Shari,
Very beautiful sketch with a reason.
Here it is summer and I see many birds flock for water.
I keep enough water in bouls for them.
Blessings
Uma
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I guess you like to watch the birds too Uma. Thanks for having a look at my spring sketch.
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Nice painting of the birds/ bird bath, are the birds Cardinals? I just got a bird bath this year, and have been watching the Robins bathe and take a drink.
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Shawn, that was indeed a cardinal. And later on I added a small chickadee too. I love watching them have a bath!
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Also, interesting setup you have there.
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I am enjoying the new easel Shawn.
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Hi Sheri,
I am an ardent fan and student(Craftsy)of yours Also I am recipient of your emails. I too have a cup easel. As my photo shows I found taller plastic cups both at Michael’s and Hobby Lobby that would fit into the hole in my easel. If you cannot find them where you are I will send you a couple. They are cheap and work perfectly. I can easily refill them from my water bottle when the water gets too dirty. Let me know if you would like for me to send you a couple of the cups.
Thanks for all the fun you email me.
Malinda
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Hi Malinda,
I think this might have been posted twice. Did you see my response?
Just wanted to think you again. I don’t see your photo. Can you please send it to me at:
info@shariblaukopf.com
For some reason photos posted in the comments of the blog never show up.
Thanks!
Shari
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Hi Shari, Love everything you do! I’m intrigued by this easel. Can you use it in the studio? Also could you give the specifics on the tripod because there are many choices and I didn’t see any
with red legs. Thanks
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Hi Sharon,
Thanks so much! In fact I just used that little easel in the studio today while I was painting with friends during a Zoom call. It was perfect in studio too.
Here is a link to the tripod:
https://amzn.to/3qtLtOB
They may not carry it in red, but I like the fact that it’s light and compact, and I like the ball head so it can be rotated.
I hoe that helps!
Shari
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Thanks for your quick reply. I just ordered the easel. Does it come with an attachment for a tripod. Thanks. Won’t bother you again.
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Great that you ordered it. It comes with a hole to attach the piece that goes into the tripod.
It looks something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Sirui-TY-C10-Quick-Release-Cameras/dp/B0069TOGG0/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=tripod+quick+release+clamp+sirui&qid=1618519815&sr=8-5
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It’s called a quick release plate clamp.
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It was so funny. I read this post the other day and then went out with my sketch group in the early evening and one of my friends was using an easel that looked just like this…and it was. I was so glad to get a close up view of it while she was working. Nice setup!
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I love seeing you in the field making art. Spring is upon us and we’ve been cooped up for awhile. I’m getting my supplies together and heading outdoors to make some art, there are so many things to choose from in the outdoors just outside the backdoor. Thank you for sharing this piece, it is inspiring
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Hi Linda, Thanks so much for writing! It does feel particularly wonderful this year to be outside, and yes, you don’t have to wander far to find things to sketch. I hope you enjoy these spring moments too!
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