The Clampeasel

Made from stuff I had laying around (you can NEVER have too many clamps, in fact you can never have enough) and pronounced clam-PEEZ-ul, all one word. Here it's in standby position. tucked away under the table until I need it.

1st position, for a small drawing board and sketchpad, or the tablet if I choose to do that (I never do, it's always in the lap)

2nd position, for the big newsprint pad, with its same-size drawing board that lives inside it.

For that purpose I needed to modify it (I've had the basic clampeasel configuration in use for some time now). I keep the right clamp always attached to the 2x4, which is propped close at hand. The other clamp stays hanging on the edge of the table, off to the left there out of the way until I need it. 

The clamps form a framework that holds the board securely and won't let it wobble. They're angled slightly outward so it's easy to drop the board in between them, and to lift it forward when I need to flip quickly to the next sheet. This setup finally lets me sit well back and draw with my entire arm - hell, my whole Body if I want!! It really frees me up from having it sitting on my knees and having to keep my drawing arm bent and draw too close to the chest.