Adventures in Paint & Pastel
Posted on 6/30/2014 9:44:11 AM
By Sharon Will
9 Comments
My Home-made Cigar Pochade Box
I discovered an abundance of various shaped cigar boxes at a local flea market, so I wanted to try my hand at making a pochade box for those plein air painting trips that require some hiking and keeping all equipment as light as possible. This box holds a 6" x 8" perfectly for fitting in my backpack. Using hardware from a local store and things I had around the house, made this an economical project. Right off I replaced the lid hinges and the closing hinge at the front with hardware that's a bit more sturdier.
I knew the side hinge was going to be key, as I wanted it to be able to lock in at an angle larger than 90 degrees to use it on my lap. I like the hinge on my EasyL box, but I couldn't find that locally, so finally found this hinge that moves through a slot I made in the lid, tightened by a wing nut.
For paint tubes and palette knife storage under the palette, I thought using wooden canvas keys was clever! These were glued to the inside of the box.
Now... how to keep the canvas panel in place while painting and when the lid closes? I used 2 acrylic framing spacers glued together with one offset to the other creating a lip for the canvas to stay in place at the bottom. All this was glued to the inside lid. For the top of the canvas, I drilled a hole to insert a L-shaped metal thingy...yes "thingy".
The top of the L-shaped metal thingy had a sharp screw at the end, so I needed to cover that. This rubber stopper did the trick and allows me to turn it, but keeps it snug. I would have like it flush with the surface, but didn't find that at my hardware, so made do with what I had.
For the palette, I used a piece of glass. Plexi would have been lighter, but I prefer glass for moving paint around. I like a white palette, so painted the underside of the glass with acrylic. A corner of the glass is cut out to be able to get a grip on it to lift out.
Then I thought, how am I going to keep the palette in place when it's closed up, keeping the paint and painting apart? I used 2 pieces of 1/4" acrylic framing spacers. One is glued to the lower left side of the palette and the other is attached to the lower right end of the inside lid. I learned hot glue doesn't stick to glass, but so far epoxy is holding.
This is the basic equipment for the backpack. I use water-soluble oils, so the green lid is a water tight plastic container for water. The tube of brushes fits right inside the paper towel roll. I'd also have a small sketch book, visor, sunscreen/bug repellent and of course a granola bar for snacks.
Finally, the test! It worked well. The only practical issue I had was not having my left hand free to hold paper towel as I usually would with a tripod pochade. But for having a light version of all my oil equipment to travel with, it was perfect!
