As I mentioned before I have been seeking a new travel Pochade. I did research some of the commercial pochades available but settled on a D. White Pochade because of the sheer cleverness of it!
Here is the pochade on it's maiden trip to the Harbor Village Art Gallery where I was painting for the public.
The D. White Pochade is a work horse.
Each one is hand- crafted by Dean White, a Canadian woodworker.
The canvas holders are adjustable from 9" x 12" to 4"x4" due to a very clever sliding mechanism. It holds two wet panels at a time inside the lid. One can also order additional sliders to hold 4 smaller wet canvases if desired.
So there is no need to purchase extra nesting pieces to accommodate different size canvases.
It has pull- out brush holders that also are perfect to hold palette cups.
In the photos I took you will see the brush holders only 1/2 way out where I prefer them so they are firmly held and not so far out that anyone can accidentally bump them. If I was not in public I would likely use them pulled out a bit more.
There are two large D-rings to clip on a strap but I also found them very helpful to hook on my turpentine bucket and to thread through my paint rag.
The bottom has a tripod mount and the storage below holds my paints and brushes perfectly as well as my palette cups.
Modifications:
I modify all my equipment to meet my needs.
For this pochade I added slide clips to keep the brush holders in place in case of rough bumps as I travel.
I also added a slide clip for the sliding palette but on the newer models the D. White Pochade has a dowel mechanism to keep the palette in place.
Rubber feet- I added rubber feet to the back and bottom to protect the pochade from concrete walls or any other surface I place it on.
I also drilled more holes for my detail brushes in the brush holders.
I also sealed 90% of the palette to make cleanup easier. The other 10% was left natural so it will hold the paint dabs firmly during travel.
Durability:
The box that it was packaged in looked like it had been rolled from Canada to California.
The pochade within had taken a beating but it did not show except for a broken latch (easy fix!)
I do feel that this pochade will be able to handle anything I can dish out. It will likely outlive me.
I have been using it now for several paintings and am very pleased with the palette clean-up and the box overall. Paint remains pliable for several days on the palette and the drawer sizes are perfect for paint tubes.
Looks:
A nice fruitwood stain and a wonderfully
rustic homemade feel make this a box I am not
afraid of dirtying with use.
There is no mistaking the home- made originaltiy of this box.
Price:
I was very fortunate to get this pochade at a price of $55.00 on auction. Direct Purchase price varies from $55.00 to $135.00 depending on size and modifications.
Wish List:
As is this box more than exceeds my needs for a compact, lightweight, workhorse.
My only wish for my pochade would be the impossible- a built- in-the-lid wet panel carrier that would allow me to carry more than two wet panels in case I am on an extended trip.
This option would increase the weight of the pochade but for travel that would not be too bad.
With Airline restrictions it would sure be great to have one less piece of carry- on.
That aside this pochade is now my constant companion. This is one clever pochade!
The new, clean palette- it no longer looks pristine.
For more information on the D. White handcrafted pochade see his sales blog at:
Dean White Pochades
