Tabletop easels can make your life as an artist so much easier. They are ideal for when you do not have a permanent space set out for painting and need to be able to move your work around the house to different surfaces.
So, what is the best tabletop easel for painting? The best tabletop easel for painting would be one that is compact and easy to move around but still offers enough space for you to paint comfortably. It should also be adjustable to set the easel at different angles to suit your work.
To help pick out the best tabletop easel for you, we have listed up everything you should consider when choosing one, and the top tabletop easels on the market right now!
Buyer’s Guide – Best Tabletop Easel
Here are the most important considerations to keep in mind when choosing a tabletop easel. These will ensure you choose one that is long-lasting and perfectly suited to your creative needs!
Durability Of The Easel
It makes sense that one of your first considerations should be the durability of the easel. It should be long-lasting and hardwearing, otherwise, it won’t last through very many paintings.
Most tabletop easels are made with beech wood, or similar, and constructed together using screws. The construction of the tabletop easel should be strong enough to last through continued use, and through being moved around the house or studio.
Portability Of The Easel
A tabletop easel is small for a reason. It should be easy enough to travel from one tabletop to another and even be placed on your lap for painting if you wanted to.
Consider how often you would be moving the easel around. If not often, a heavier, sturdier easel is fine. However if you are going to be moving the easel around often, then a smaller, lightweight easel is best.
Some easels come in a carry box that makes transporting them that much easier, but once again you need to determine how often you will be moving the easel around.
If you are not sure how often you will be moving the easel, try to get something in-between, something that isn’t too heavy to carry around, but which still offers stability.
Stability Of The Easel
There is no point in using a tabletop easel if it is going to slip and slide all over the table as you try to paint. There really will be nothing more frustrating than trying to stabilize a tabletop easel that refuses to stay in place.
Most of the tabletop easels available come with some sort of non-slip base, mostly screw-fixed rubber feet, which work to prevent the easel from moving. These offer good grip and are fairly durable as well. They are also very sturdy if you are using the tabletop easel outdoors.
The Angle Of The Easel
Using a tabletop easel allows you to avoid strain on your neck, shoulders, and back. This is why it is important to look for a tabletop easel that can be angled at different positions, so you can find one that allows you to have proper posture when sitting down.
This helps even more when doing super detailed work, where you need the artwork close to you, but without compromising your posture, and ultimately straining your neck and shoulders.
Most tabletop easels have adjustable angles, and it is definitely something that you should look for. You never know where you might be painting next, so being able to adjust the angle is really important.
How The Easel Functions
While you will be looking for an easel primarily for painting, it is good to look at the functions of the easel to accommodate for different materials and mediums.
As mentioned above, the tabletop easel should have adjustable angles to accommodate for different artworks and different positions, and it should have a deep lip at the base of the easel, to hold different size edged canvases, so your work doesn’t slip off the easel.
However, this lip should not be so deep that it gets into the way of your painting. Also, consider the smoothness of the wood, you want a smooth and flat surface to not interfere with your artwork. The size of the board should be thick enough to be durable, but thin enough to allow the use of metal clips to support your work.
7 Best Tabletop Easels For Painting
With all of the above considerations kept in mind, here are our top picks of the best tabletop easels for you to use to set your creativity free when painting!
| Rank | Product | Key Faetures |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | U.S Art Supply La Jolla Large Adjustable Easel | Storage for supplies, stable, portable |
| 2. | 16-Inch Tabletop Display Artist Easel Stand | Lightweight compact, simple |
| 3. | A3 Artist Beech Wood Tabletop Easel | 4 different angles, folding, foot pads |
| 4. | Mont Marte Tabletop Easel | Compact, durable, supplies storage |
| 5. | U.S Art Supply Tabletop Wooden H-Frame Easel | Rubber feet, adjustable, steady |
| 6. | Sorillo Brands A-Frame Wooden Easel | Adjustable legs, portable, lightweight |
| 7. | Meeden Heavy-Duty Tabletop Studio Easel | Sturdy, adjustable, lightweight |
1. U.S Art Supply La Jolla Large Adjustable Easel
The La Jolla Portable Tabletop Easel has been designed to have a large interior stage box, and 2 locking clasps to keep your supplies secure.
This not only offers you a surface to place your canvas and paint but storage for your paintbrushes and other accessories.
Measuring 36-inches, it is a good size for many different canvases, and is strong, stable, and durable, but still with the ability to be transported around. It can fold down to a small box size when needed to be transported.
The easel is made from hand-sanded aged oil finished beech, which is one of the best materials an easel could be made from. Along with this, it is fitted with a durable leather handle for easy traveling.
The strong construction, stability, portability, and extra storage space, make this one of the best tabletop easels on the market and is one for those who want the best painting experience at home.
2. 16-Inch Tabletop Display Artist Easel Stand
Sometimes simple is best, and that is completely true for this incredibly handy tabletop easel!
The easel is made from solid pine wood, free from coating, but with a flat surface that is perfect to lay your canvas against. It measures 16-inches by 8.75-inches, so it is ideal for most size canvases used on a tabletop.
It is lightweight and compact, and can be easily folded up and carried somewhere else. It is a great choice for a tabletop easel at home, at school, or when traveling.
Once you are finished painting, you could even use the compact easel to display your artwork on a tabletop or shelf!
It is sturdy and durable and will see to most of your painting needs at home, while still offering versatility when it comes to the size of the artwork you are wanting to use it for.
3. A3 Artist Beech Wood Tabletop Easel
This tabletop easel comes with 4 different angle adjustments, so you can set it to suit the work you are doing, and to encourage the best posture, avoiding strain on your neck, shoulders, and back as you paint.
Made from high-standard German beech wood, the actual easel is solid and durable, with a smooth finish and uniform color. Underneath the easel are rubber foot pads to stabilize the easel on any surface, so there is no risk of it moving around as you paint.
The easel has a large canvas area of 17.32-inches by 13.07-inches. It holds up to A3 size canvases, which is ideal for tabletop painting.
When it is time to move the easel around, it can fold down into a smaller size, and it is easy enough to set back up again, with no intricate pieces and bits needing to be put together.
The solid construction of the easel and the different angle adjustments makes this a great choice for those who spend quite a bit of time painting and drawing at home, and it is suitable for beginners and professionals alike.
4. Mont Marte Tabletop Easel
The Mont Marte Tabletop Easel is perfect when you are working on different spaces, and need an easel that can be moved between different surfaces.
When folded, the easel measures 10.6-inches by 14-inches by 3.74-inches so is a great portable size.
When folded out and in use, the easel can be adjusted to suit different sizes. It can hold canvases up to 20.4-inches in height, but can also be adjusted to hold smaller ones too.
It is made from solid beech wood, with a smooth finish, so it will not damage or affect your canvas or artwork.
Underneath the frame of the easel is a storage box that offers you a safe space to hold most of your art supplies, so everything you need is easily accessible in one place!
Compact but strong, easy to transport but with good storage space, this is definitely an easel anyone who loves painting should consider!
5. U.S Art Supply Tabletop Wooden H-Frame Easel
This professional medium-sized H-frame tabletop easel is perfect for home or studio and has reliable rubber feet to offer a sturdy grip on any surface, to ensure your work doesn’t move around as you paint.
The natural wood-colored easel is finished with oil and is made with hand-sanded aged beech wood. It is adjustable to accommodate different size canvases, holding a canvas up to 22-inches high. It can also be adjusted to just past a full vertical incline, so you can tilt it all the way back if your painting calls for it.
Whether you use this easel over and over again for painting, or for one special project, and then as a display unit, it is reliable and durable and will help you achieve just what you need time and time again.
6. Sorillo Brands A-Frame Wooden Easel
This simple wooden easel from Sorillo Brands is ideal for those who enjoy painting as a hobby at home. The adjustable legs mean you can suit the easel height and angle to the surface you are painting on, helping make you more comfortable, and relieving any neck and shoulder strain.
The catch string attached to the adjustable legs helps to promote stability, so your artwork is kept secure and safe. When extended fully, the easel can hold artwork up to 14-inches tall.
The easel is handcrafted from pine and is perfect to use to paint some masterpieces, or as a stand to show off your work once it is done.
It is great for on-the-go painting, when you use different surfaces to paint at home, in the garden, or in the studio, and is quite a good option for beginner artists.
7. Meeden Heavy-Duty Tabletop Studio Easel
For artists who want something heavy-duty, sturdy, and reliable, this tabletop easel from Meeden is a wonderful option,
While it is heavy-duty and sturdy, it can still be folded up and traveled with in ease. There are 7 adjustable settings on the easel, where it can be angled to different levels, and provide flexibility for different needs and occasions. It can hold canvases up to 23-inches.
It is finely handcrafted from smooth beech wood and is constructed well, with everything screwed together properly, while still allowing the easel to be lightweight.
It is a tabletop easel that will meet all of your painting needs at home, and definitely is a premium easel that will last you for many years, adjusting to all your different artistic needs!
Best Tabletop Easels For Kids
As a bonus, we have included the best tabletop easel for kids! Encourage the little artist in your home to let their creativity flow with the right equipment and tools.
Melissa & Doug Double-Sided Magnetic Tabletop Art Easel
The Melissa and Doug Tabletop Easel has everything your budding artist could want. It has a built-in paper roll, a dry-erase board, and a chalkboard – they can experiment with different mediums just using the one easel!
Along with the dry-erase board, the chalkboard, and the built-in paper roll, it comes with a dry-erase marker, 5 pieces of colored chalk, an eraser, and 36 number and letter magnets.
It has a sturdy wooden construction and is made from high-quality wood. It is safe and easy for kids to use, and is suitable for kids aged 3-years old and up.
Once done, you can fold the easel down flat and store it away with ease. The easel promotes creative play in different forms, while still providing a great space for kids to paint using the built-in 50-foot long paper roll!
Related Questions
How do I choose the right easel?
To choose the right easel, you first need to think of what it is you need. Do you need a free-standing easel? Do you need one to sit on a tabletop? Do you need the easel to have adjustable angles?
You will only be able to determine the right easel for you once you have figured all of this out. Without asking yourself these questions, you could land up getting the wrong easel which does not help at all with your painting.
Is it better to paint sitting or standing?
Different painting styles call for you to be in different positions. Free and loose painting styles work well if you are standing, but painting that requires control and delicate touches are much better performed when sitting down.
Your painting style will also help to determine what type of easel you need to buy. If you haven’t figured out your painting style just yet, it is a good idea to buy a versatile easel that can be used in different situations.
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