Most of my well known artist friends have been painting from
computer monitors, I've decided to go digital as well. This will save me from
printing those expensive color prints and give me the flexibility to zoom in
and look at more details. Being the geek that I am. I researched came up with
this setup. It worked so well I thought I share it.
First of all I don't want to buy another computer just to
display photos. I want to minimize the cords and the space needed for a key
board and mouse. Second, I wanted to be able to adjust the height because sometimes
I paint standing and sometimes sitting. I also wanted to be able to rotate the
screen 90 degrees to take advantage of the screen size when painting portraits.
The monitor has to be thin and light because I need the monitor to be on the
left of the easel and there's no place to mount it other than the easel. Here's
what I came up with:
The Android computer was less than $50 and it's very small. Plugs
directly into the computer monitor via HDMI. It has dual core CPU and built in
wifi. Everything I needed. This little computer can be found on Amazon under
MK808 (there are new ones coming out all the time, at the time when I ordered
there was already a MK808B with Bluetooth and even a quad core version).
I got the 24 inch ASUS monitor VS248H-P because it has HDMI
input so I can plug in the Android computer. It also has VESA mounting holes so
I can mount it on a monitor arm. It is very thin and light so it won't tip my
easel over.
Found this monitor arm with a desk mount that allowed me to
mount it on a vertical bar on my easel. It's branded HP but actually made by
Ergotron. The arm is very strong and provide all kinds of movement. The HP
branded arm is all black but it's $20 cheaper at $84.99. I highly recommend
this arm.
I got a iPazzPort fly air mouse so I wouldn't have to have desk
space for a mouse and keyboard. It works well for bring up photos but probably
will use a real mouse if I want to edit a photo. I could probably have gotten a
touch screen but didn't want to get oil paint all over the screen.
I'm pretty happy with the setup. Might have gone a bit over
board with the 24 inch monitor but just have to push it back a bit. It's really
amazing how much the price has come down for such a computer system and things
are getting better and cheaper all the time.
