Garth,
No, I didn't get the easel either.

This easel would have been a steal at $600. I have the Hughes 4000 and don't know how I lived without it for so long. There are a few times I wished I had the 5000 as I work in larger formats and on more than one painting at a time which these easels easily accomodate. The 5000 will hadle up to three canvases at a time. The 4000 only three.. Anyone with the studio space should grab the 5000 if it comes back on sale. The Hughes easels are great in that they slide up and down and side to side with the touch of a finger so that any spot on the canvas can be easily positioned in front ot your preferred work zone.

Hughes Easel
 

I owe one of those Hughes Easels which I bought at a regular price, the one at e-bay was a steal at 1/3 of the retail price. To me a good easel is like a good camera for a photographer and I love mine just like I love my Leica. Of course, the "Cadillac" Hughes easel won't make me paint like the Old Masters who worked on home-made clumsy easels, but at least it gives me so much comfort.

I laugh. No amount of equipment can make me paint like the masters either, but, like the hand-held palette, at least we can look cool.