I've gotten numerous questions about my car plein-air setup (for painting in the car, not painting pictures of cars), so here is the official introduction to my car pochade box.

 

 

This was originally a fancy box with a plush, velvet interior that held a set of silverware. I scavenged it from the dumpster of my apartment when I lived in Syracuse 20 years ago, and over the years, I've made adjustments and additions until it became what you see today. It measures approximately 11" x 14", so it is portable and light enough to carry around. Before I received my Daytripper Easel from Prolific Painter, I used this for everything — hauling it up mountains, packing it in my carry-on and taking it with me overseas, schlepping it across cities on the bus... It is an old friend. The hinge inside is not as sturdy as it once was, and the tripod I used with it is also on its last legs, so now I primarily use this on my lap in the car. 

 

 

I made an extension secured by a nut and bolt that can accommodate larger canvases. The palette, also scrounged from the dumpster around the same time, is plexiglass from which I inelegantly hacked a chunk to make room for the hinge when the lid is closed.

 

 

The jumbo push pin seen above stuck into the extension keeps the palette from moving when the lid is closed, and thus all the things inside do not fly around. I can also carry a wet panel on the inside of the lid; it sits flush against the lid, secured on the bottom by the two ends of the hinge screws that are poking through from the outside, and I fix it on the top with other push pins in such a way that it does not fall onto the palette. 

 

 

I  divided the inside with pieces of scrap wood, and there's room to carry everything I need to paint. I think the bottom might have originally had that ragged hole, but I drilled a proper hole in the center for the tripod mount. You could also attach a tripod quick release thingy outside on the bottom if you had a tripod with a standard mount. 

 

The moral is: You can shell out a bazillion dollars for something fancy, but pretty much any box or tin will work with the right adjustments — even pizza boxes! 

 

Here are two examples of plein air kits built with a variety of random materials.

 

Marc Dalessio's ultralight kit made from a plastic box.

 

Rebecca Alzofon's bicycle studio!

 

And last but not least, here's a 360 view of my box in my first foray into stop-motion video. 

 

Hope that helps!