Small Painting Adapter for a French Easel

Just wanted to share my husband Rob’s ingenious small-painting adapter for my
French easel.

I needed something that would keep the painting completely stable, so that I can paint vigorously without fear of it shifting under my brush.  Also, I didn't want it to rest on a lip -- I like to be able to paint right past the edges on all sides.  Rob suggested cutting a piece of plywood and aligning screws to the edges of my small boards.  When the screws are screwed down against the boards, the boards are stuck tight.

Since I’ve only used two sizes of paintings so far, I’ve only made two pairs of screw holes – one pair to fit a horizontal 6 x 8 board and one to fit a vertical one, as you can see above.

I cut a 19 x 13 piece of plywood so that I could secure it with the canvas-holding arm and so that it would not be wider than the easel itself, which can cause it to catch wind and shift around.  It was a VERY windy day today and nothing moved at all.  I was thrilled.