Review: W&N Easel – Taking the ‘Pain’ out of Painting

In March this year, I ordered myself a desktop easel. With ongoing upper back issues (trapezius-related) over recent years, painting flat down at my desk had caused regular spells of excruciating pain and I needed to try something else. I’ve tried easels once or twice before, but I’ve barely any space for a full-length one and wanted to try a budget version first to see if it would really work for me.

After a thorough search, I soon found this Beechwood table easel* by Winsor & Newton. A trusted brand and affordable, I decided to look no further and ordered it right away – and at this price, there wasn’t much to lose. It claims to fit up to A4 size, and the lightweight compact design seemed perfect for my small work space.

My verdict? After a solid 7 months of use, I can safely say this easel is an excellent find. It took me a few tries to adjust to painting at a vertical angle, learning how to position my hand, but it was an easy learning curve and I was comfortable quite quickly. The easel itself is compact and lightweight (perfect for when I travel) and easy to use, arriving flat-packed with everything you need for a swift set-up. An excellent compact size, it fits really well on my small and busy art desk – tidying up my space too since my artwork is now always propped up in the easel (rather than spread out everywhere)!

The ultimate test however, is whether it has helped with my muscular strain; and I can confirm it has. Using an easel has significantly lowered the frequency of my trapezius pain, and I’m not out for 24 hours with a blinding tension headache as a result. I’ve been able to paint comfortably and easily without straining my neck, back and shoulders. This ‘small’ change has honestly made a world of difference (and reduced my chiropractor bill!)

I will say however, that this is not the most robust or sturdy piece of kit. It hasn’t troubled me very much, but herein is the difference between this easel and a more expensive model which would most likely be weightier, more fine-tuned and heavy-duty. The clamp is a bit fiddly, requiring some trial-and-error, so it doesn’t grip paper ‘to a T’ and can also pressure the edges slightly, bending paper inwards. These issues can be easily rectified if you fit a thick piece of board (I use this A4 greyboard* and it works excellently) to the back, so that your paper has something sturdy to lean against and the clamp has a ‘solid’ edge to grip onto. Finally, it is lightweight so sometimes has the tendency to move as you work. This is personally not a huge concern; once you’re aware of it, it’s easily avoidable by simply holding the easel down with your other hand.

My rating: 8/10. I’d highly recommend this as a solution to posture issues at the art desk. It is compact, easy to use, effective – and at this price, it is absolutely worth a shot.