This easel is much more than an easel. It has become a muse to me and I'm excited to share so many great features of this new addition to my family of easels in my studio. First, let me share with you the problem I was trying to solve.
I had four easels in my studio; one a frame, one h frame, one Julian portable/table top, and a small metal presentation easel. I work on gallery wrapped canvas from 9"x12" all the way up to 48"x60" or 72". To work on these large pieces my current easels were not large enough or strong enough. I did use the h frame but it wasn't quite right. So I ended up placing large nails around the frame to my utility closet door to hang the canvas. Very inconvenient. I also tried using my easels for applying gesso and varnish but they would run and it was difficult to get an even smooth layer. I also work in large wood panels that require a large sturdy easel.
This Best Halley Easel exceeded all of my expectations. Now I'm a very critical and demanding artist with little patience for poor quality or misleading information. So I spent weeks researching easels online at Amazon and in person at my local and favorite store, Blick Art Materials. And I got so much for money and I'll say that the $500+ dollars spent was not small but worth so much more.
Stands Out I looked at many products from $150 to $900 and this beat them all. Not only did I get stretch and sturdiness I have three products in one. For oil and acrylic and pastels and watercolor. It tilts forward backward and lays flat as a 36" high table. It is so easy to use adjust with ergonomics well thought out it was easy to put together and didn't need any tools. With only eight screws included and needed for assembly. A nit with the instructions is that the pictures need to better indicate the pieces and how they align. But that's the only and small issue.
For the strength and soundness and heft it takes up a small footprint in my studio and easily holds the six foot canvas that I'm working on right now! Plus the wood is quality and solid and oiled and smooth without splinters. All of the lines fit neatly and snuggly. And the wood is finished with oil and has a nice sheen. It is also a beautiful piece of furniture!
Small ammenities include a nice size shelf a the bottom of the easel proving that the designers did a nice job thinking about how to use the entire space of the product and not just a device to hold something. It's much more that a simple easel. It also has a nice sturdy and compact tray with a cup holder. I'm not much for these addons but it's nicely done and fits neatly into the design. However just remember that it needs to come off for larger canvas.
The ease of assembly was a very important feature for me. And as I said this came together in about 45 minutes to an hour and I AM DISABLED. I cannot thank Best products enough for this benefit in addition to all of the other easy to use features for a guys in my situation. I did look at other brands like American, and Blick but none came close to this Best Halley easel. They were either too flimsy or too small or hard to put together and more difficult to use. They weren't worth the money both the cheaper products and the more expensive brands.
It took me awhile to find this product and pull the trigger and I'm ecstatic that I did so because I have a new addition to my studio family of easels. Plus I can be proud to take this out with me to public displays of my working I public because it is a quality product and shows that I'm serious about what I do and have great tools to help me.
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This is a toy for all ages! Stimulates imagination, and provides hours of enjoyment. My daughter got so good at it over 20 years, that she has done MANY scenes, including the NY skyline...which is currently on the Ohio Art website! This gift was bought for her to add to her collection. Most women have dishes in their china closet. My daughter has years of pictures she made on etch-a-sketches, and her collection of etch-a-sketches big and small. There is a way to make it so that the picture cannot be erased, but you need to contact the company for the instructions.
