Okay, that is enough!

Right now I can barely type, due to how unstable my spine is. I didn't plan on starting a fight between egos, simply needed this info and thought this was the best place to go. So stop it now.

I can dislocate a rib reaching for a tube of paint, I have to change all of my normal painting habits and learn to work within my limitations. If the Hughes easel is dependable, well built, and easy to move around, it will help me immensely! I just wanted to hear from artists that have used easels with pulley systems so I can chose the best for my needs.

Respectfully,
Jean Kelly

Hi Jean,

Richard and I were just teasing each other. Our intentions are merely to help you. I think you need to differentiate between pulley systems. Some pulley systems are crank dependent. The Hughes and Sorg easels are both counterbalanced. With the Hughes easel you can alter the weight so that it's appropriate for your painting. That is the key. You can move every Hughes easel up and down and on all but the basic model left and right with very little effort; literally the touch of a finger, which is why I thought it would be most appropriate for you. The only effort involved is getting it set up, which I hope you can get help with. Of course this would be the case for any easel. Once set up you will be amazed.

Your courage and determination are inspirational.

Thank you Marvin,

It does seem to be the best suited for me, the smaller one that moves horizontally would suit me fine. Set up shouldn't be a problem as long as my husband doesn't do it! I had to think about how many times I move my painting sideways, and I'm often changing that so the horizontal movement is good.

If anyone has comments they would like to e-mail me, I just updated my e-mail addy which was wrong.

I'm no inspiration Marvin, just a stubborn Norwegian.

Jean

I guess Marvin and I do play a little rough at times, but I'd like to take Jean's "scolding" as a good opportunity to make it clear that I do value Marvin's comments and input. He is a working professional and an all-around "class act".

Of all the high-end easel offerings, the Hughes is worthy of being in the "prestige" tier. The big difference in its counter-balanced lift system is that the cables are steel, and never "free" so long as the tray is compensated by loading the counter-balance. Like raising an old-fashioned double-sash window, the movement should require minimal effort so long as it's properly set up. And . . . the Hughes indeed is complex enough (patented, yet!) to be beyond the range of what amateur wood-workers can manage.

Jean, you do inspire, as one who keeps "at it" in the face of adversities that would have most dissolving in self-pity and simply giving up on everything. Let's hear it for the Norwegians!

Hi Richard, and thanks for "playing nice"! If this easel will work as well as I hope, then I won't need a flexible elbow and forearm brace, saving many $$$ and freeing up my arm. I was beginning to think I would look like "Edward Scissorhands" in order to paint!!!.

I respect both of your opinions also, but it took a while for me to figure out that I already had what you were suggesting, probably not the quality though.

So wish me luck, I hope to hear from Hughes and get this ball rolling. In the meantime, I'm working on yet another landscape and these can be more difficult than portraits. I also have a series of dragons in the sky formed from clouds that I am in the process of screwing up! I've even done (oh my God!) ABSTRACTS.

Thank you,
Jean Kelly

Hi all,
Got a back brace two days ago and yesterday painted for two, yes two hours!!! I even got a few broad, juicy strokes in, felt sooooo good.

Jean

Yeh!!!
 

Well, sometime in the near future I will have the Hughes easel, along with other assistive devices to help me become a functioning artist again!

I've got some work ahead of me with muscle retraining and exercise, but am looking forward to it, and hope iI can still do some portraiture. I do believe that my style will change, but I was always too tight anyway, so this could be a good thing.

Thank you so much for all your assistance and help, Terri, Richard M, Marvin, and Richard B. It was all appreciated ( even the little "rough play").

Respectfully,
Jean Kelly