Painting position

[littlerick]

How do you all position yourself to paint? I know the auto guys just get in where and how they can, but the artist and illustrators, do you sit and work on flat surface or angled/vertical or stand ect.

I usually stand and paint with work at a slight angle of vertical... get back ache after about 30 mins!

 

[wmlepage]

Both sitting and standing. Depends on the size of the piece. I am currently working on a 24x36 panel. On my wall easel I had to stand on a step stool to reach the top well. Didn't want to cross my light source up by turning it on its side or upside down.

 

[MeeshellMP]

Sitting, and standing for art..then bending, slouching, twisting for everything else

 

[Squishy]

I stand If I need to, but being a general lazy a** and having a bit of a bum knee, if I can sit , then I'll sit.

 

[matty171]

I have a desk easel screwed to my wall and usually stand, sometimes up to 6/7 hours which isnt good for my bad back, i bought a stool an try to use it but i like to step back every couple o mins to look at what im doing from a distance so the stool gets shoved over the other side of the kitchen. Do what evers good for you, @Madbrush done a thread on a rotating easel he made might be of interest to you

 

[RebelAir]

Standing is the smart way, gives you full range of movement, sitting is for us oldies that can't be bothered standing anymore and would rather a mistake on their workpiece than sore backs and legs at the end of the day LOL..These days I primarily sit unless doing a bonnet or something large..but I always put the board at a slight angle away from me rather than straight up or down, thats likely more due to the fact I made my own easel and if i stand it up straight it will fall on me LOL..But either or, comfort is important so being comfortable can really help, but I always suggest beginners stand..

 

[Melbee]

I stand at an easel almost verticle and move it up and down so I don't have to reach or crouch. I used to sit but got really bad backache so now stand. I still get backache because I tend to lean in so I can see what I'm doing due to bad eyesight but it's less than sitting. Ideally I'd like the surface to stand out a little way so I could get my feet under just a tad so I didn't have to lean in but could keep a more upright stance. Either that or I get better glasses so I don't have to lean in!!

 

[foreveryoung001]

In my old studio, I used a rolling office chair that could be raised and lowered. Most office chairs I could find would only raise or lower 6 or 8 inches, but I found one that would go a foot and a half. This kept me from having to stand (most of the time) and allowed me to roll back a few feet, to get a look, then roll back in to paint.

In our new house, I don't have the studio space set up yet, but did get my airbrush out last night, for the first time in many months. The office chair got fubarred in the move and wound up at the dump, so just grabbed a kitchen chair to sit in last night. Not my ideal choice, but will suffice until I get back in the swing of things and have time to actually set up my space and figure out best to paint.

I have tried standing, and will say, I think it did help when I first started airbrushing, but if I got into a 3 or 4 hour painting session, my back would be killing me at the end of it. Need to find another one of those high rise office chairs.

 

[Supernova]

I have spent all of my time learning to airbrush in class whilst standing. At home I do a combination of sitting and standing, but neither of them is ideal unless the easel adjusts height easily. I'm working on a height adjusting easel but also giving a lot of thought into my painting position. I do have a back that doesn't like either position for long periods. So what I'm looking at is a height adjusting saddle seat ( http://www.bambach.com.au ) on wheels. The saddle seats are supposed to be really good for people like me with lower back issues as they put the pelvis in the correct position. Being a stool, they give a better range of movement than a chair. I have not used one for long periods, so I can't personally verify their claims. They come with various options like back rest, different range of height adjustments and castors that will only move if you're on or off the seat. When I get one of these, I'll be able to give a more comprehensive review.