About

Hi! I'm Alex Harbron and I am an artist with a keen interest in painting en plein air. I live in a beautiful part of mid-Wales, where the landscape inspires me to be creative. 


I like to access remote locations on foot or by bicycle, often travelling long distances carrying all my kit. Having light and compact equipment enhances the freedom to move about, opening a world of creative posibilities. I soon became obsessed with finding the most portable solutions and this led me to develop the world's lightest tripod easel, the Harbron Compact Tripod Easel. 

The Harbron Compact Tripod Easel weighs just 190g

Bouyed by enthusiastic feedback from artists, I expanded the Harbron Plein Air range to include a larger tripod easel, a tripod shelf which can be used as a palette or support, and wet panel carriers to transport your art safely from location. I handcraft all items myself and the range is constantly evolving as I learn about the needs of other plein air artists.  

Every Harbron Plein Air accessory is handmade by me.

I established Harbron Plein Air to show my range of ultra-portable easels and accessories and share my passion for creating art en plein air. I hope you enjoy your visit and please do get in touch if you have any questions.    

Would you like to be kept in the loop? 

Email me with 'subscribe' in the title at harbronpleinair@gmail.com and I'll let you know when new accessories and blog postings are updated. 


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3 Palette Ideas for the Harbron Tripod Shelf

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Here are some ideas on using the Harbron Tripod Shelf as a palette: Firstly, let me say that I don't apply paint directly to the shelf. I prefer to attach a dedicated surface to the shelf for my mixing, as it's easier to organise and manage. I use 'draftsman's' metal drawing board clips for this purpose, but there are a range of clip solutions you might have more readily to hand. For my demo, I'm using the shallowest clips I could find at 16 x 55 mm. For the last studio set-up in this article, I don't need clips.     1: Palette Paper The first solution is to use palette paper. I have been using the Strathmore Palette Paper, size 9x12in. I attach the whole pad to the shelf using drawing board clips and when I have completed my painting, I scrape off left-over paint into a pot (using it later to put a ground on some of my new surfaces) and then I can tear-off and dispose of the paper. The palette paper solution is very portable and hassle-free. It's a bit
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Which Tripod for Harbron Easels?

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There's an exhaustive range of tripods out there. Which one is best for the Harbron Tripod Easel? Let's look at how to get the tripod easel matched up correctly. Mount plate compatibility (also known as: Quick-release plate, quick-release shoe, screw plate).    The Harbron Tripod Easel has a 1/4 inch threaded hole at the base of its body to enable attachment of a tripod mount plate. Most standard tripods come with a mount plate with 1/4 inch screw. If your tripod has a different size, don't panic! Adaptors are available. TIP: Look for a tripod with a 1/4 inch mount plate. Mount plates can be bought separately and its a good idea to have a spare permanently attached to your easel, so you don't accidentally leave it still attached to your camera back at home - not that I've ever done that, ever!       TIP: Buy a spare mount plate and fix it permanently to your easel. Adjustment of tripod head To position the easel vertical, you will need to be able to swivel the tripo
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Art of Plein Air: Poplars by the Lake (1916) by Tom Thomson

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  Spotlighting great  examples of plein air art . _______________ Poplars by the Lake (1916) by Tom Thomson (1877-1917).  Oil on board, 8.4" x 10.5" National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa.  Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons _______________ The year before his mysterious death, one of Canada's greatest  landscape artists, Tom Thomson, found himself working the summer as a ranger in Algonquin Park, Canada. The area had become his muse, and he had been spending the spring, summer and autumn there, painting the seasons in all weathers, at all times of the day.  It was in this period that he painted Poplars by the Lake,  one of many  oil sketches by the artist, completed  en plein air .  It has all the hallmarks of Thomson's work. The main elements of trees, sky and water, which provided endless fascination for Thomson as subject matter. There is also the signature  b road brushstrokes, liberal applications of oil paint, and idiosyncratic palette of colours.  The artist used many
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