Sitting or standing?

[Richard Bingham]

Standing. Is this a poll?

Originally Posted by Claudemir Bonfim

I what Bill Whitaker calls "The Painter's Dance".

Sargent literally wore a path in the rug . . .

[Enzie Shahmiri]

I do both for the same reasons as mentioned before.

I do like to ask: "When standing, at what degree of tilt, do you keep your easel at?

When I stand my back just kills me after some time, because I seem to be leaning away from the easel, even though the easel is tilted away from me as well. The position of me and the easel is like a "V" , if I tilt the easel towards me matters get even worse. So now I am starting to wonder if maybe my eyesight is going bad. So please help an aging artist with your input.

[Richard Bingham]

That's interesting, Enzie. I wouldn't be averse if this thread morphed into discussions of eye-sight . . .

A couple of observations - I never understood adjusting an easel for a backward tilt. Dead plumb is the obvious position that eliminates visual distortions, but a slight cant forward is how I set up my easel for two functional reasons. 1., a forward cant is more likely to eliminate glare from the ambient light, and 2. Depending on the consistency of the paint and your ways of working, if anything runs or drops from the brush, it won't trail down the entire workpiece.

To be comfortable at work standing depends on whether one remains immoble, and moves one's head to alter the point of view of the work, or whether one "paces", changing position in stride to compare canvas to model, and see a complete overview of the work in progress. If you never "back off" you may as well sit . . .

[Enzie Shahmiri]

Richard,

I was also taught in school to have the easel at a slight forward tilt for the same reasons that you have mentioned, but recently it just hasn't been a comfortable position to work at.

Have to check exactly how much back and forth moving I do, maybe that's the culprit. Good point!

[Richard Bingham]

I think the position of subject matter relative to the easel, whether one is sight-sizing, and how brushes are held (choked up, or from the end of the handle) have a lot to do with sitting or standing, as well as the angle position of the workpiece. After all, easels are adjustable for good reason, and it's not the details of technique, but the results that matter! I wish I had $5 for every time I caught myself working uncomfortably or inefficiently without stopping to think things through.