Secondhand Pochade?
 

Maybe try Craigslist or Ebay? I hear what you're saying: I'd love to have a similar thing but don't want to shell out hundreds of dollars. Can you let me know if you have any luck?

Nancy,
Do you have a tripod? It's easy to make a plein air easel from it. If you are curious I can post the addition I made to make it serve as an easel.

I'd like to see that too!

I will take some pictures of the details when it gets light again.

That gorgeous landscape!!! Is that out your front door?

Wow, what a great setup. I also have a french half easel, but sometimes it is too bulky and heavy to be practical.

I have rigged up a few systems using old cigar boxes or simply a piece of masonite (I use sturdy clamps to attach the panel I paint on), that screw to the tripod, but I particularly love your shelf below. It must be very convenient to have somewhere to put your brushes, palette and oil when using your tripod setup. Outdoor painting has enough challenges - dealing with wind, bugs, dust, curious passersby - without having to juggle equipment too.

Are you able to give some close up photos or a description so we can understand how you made it?

By the way, I love your plein air pieces of those gorgeous vistas!

Wow
 

Hi everyone;

Wow, thanks for showing us your cool system Allan! Truly impressive. I actually do already have a home-made system I use for outdoor painting that is not too a distant trek from house or car...but I am interested in a pochade system for hiking a good distance carrying a small and light plein air system. Which is what the pochade systems are for, specifically.

I have tried Craigslist and Ebay as yet to no avail. Plenty of people trying to sell their French easels ,but I've had no luck with finding secondhand pochades. I even emailed one of the pochade manufacturers which runs a newsy/folksy plein air newsletter asking if they might include a "Classified" section where people trading up to the next level could sell their used system. Perhaps this was a bit ingenuous, as I received no reply.

Please keep me in mind if you hear of a source? And thanks again for all the interest in and response to my query!

Nancy Bae,
Here are the details, I hope it illustrates how everything is made.

The first picture is all the peaces you need to make an easel out of a photo tripod, if you hold the palette in the hand.

The easel is as lightweight as the pochade system and it takes canvas up to 30 " in the hight. I put it into a backpack. The only thing you will have to carry in hand is the finished painting.

Julie and Laurel,
Thanks, the landscapes are from Geilo, Norway.

More pics.

Quite ingenious, Allan. Thanks for posting it.

Though that might have been "easy" for you to make, I feel quite sure that it would be beyond my limited handyman abilities to put together, let alone to find or make the parts for!

Nancy Bea,

I hope you find what you are looking for. If you don't, you might want to try attaching a nut to the bottom of a cigar box, small wooden easel box (fairly inexpensive at art supply stores) or even just a piece of masonite (I glued a 1 1/2" square piece of wood to the middle to hold the nut) that will allow you to attach it to your tripod. Not perfect, but cheap :)

Allan,

Thanks for the photos - my hat is off to your creative inventiveness. Very impressive!

Michele,
I know that one have to have a workplace and some tools. But the materials are cheep.

The flat metal was taken from an old stainless kitchen table, the aluminum pipes are 5/8", total lengt 60". the wing nuts from the hardware store.

The shelf and palette are made from birch plywood and varnised.

Then, of cause, you will have to buy a couple of wine bottles to your good friend the handyman ;)

If anybody is going to try it, please ask questions, I will post additional meassures.