I also want to add the renewed experience of finishing a work in one sitting and how freeing that is. Drop the judgement and pre-planning, instead here is your moment and it may never come again so get to it. The down side is I eventually get so into my own painting progress I may miss when her painting has suddenly turned to the wall or carpet, etc. It is a gift and I thank her often.

I had the pleasure of working with both the H-frame and A-frame Klopfenstein easels at a large University that provided them for classroom use. These easels are so strong the strength seems to seep right into the work. You feel you could swing from these not just lean on them like a strong shoulder you might lean on for comfort. Just recently I finally decided to order one (H frame), I can’t think what took me so long to come around to that after working for so many years on the flimsiest of A-frames. The Klopfenstein is a mountain and I am sure it will actually expand what I am able to do.

I am having such a time painting some alligators I photo-ed in the zoo, I will have to get some photos of it up soon. It is clamped down to a 6 pound wooden board (also a mistake I need a lighter gatorboard or incredible board as DickBlick calls it that weighs about 1 pound). I like to be free to quickly yank the board up and move the paint around by tilting the board. Also I wanted to say drafting board types of easels that tilt back don’t work for me because I can’t adjust them fast enough and don’t want them tilted back when I work, with me leaning over them cranking my back into knots, how relaxing can that be? I just want to stand up straight or sit up straight and see the whole thing flat in front of me along with my taped up paint study and light/dark sketch I have created for the painting and the photo if I have to work from a photo.