Carder style Easel
TomD
I was looking for plans for an easel for my daughter, and was willing to make a fancy H easel. But she needed something portable and I came across the Carder design, that with some modification has worked out very well. I just finished a slightly more refined version of the student easel, it has clamps to hold the painting, and a counter balance, that are not shown, but you can see options on Carder's site (with which I have no arrangement)
Here is a typical clamp:
(The C clamp like device is just a third hand and would not normally be engaged.)
This is the 2X Easel tutorial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3GPSL7SyXg