Sitting and painting – Thoughts on posture : Maybe BOW could ask Jerry ?

[soulman 2945xp 2]

Hi all, early monday morning post… Maybe im just doing it wrong all my life, but painting hurts my back. Im guessing i have the wrong chair and set up, but i was thinking a BOW video on painting stations, sitting in pain is a problem if you love your hobby… I cross my legs which is painful. Warren did a great video on lighting.. I just wondered is there any videos about sitting right for painting….  your thoughts please….

[Anonymous 0xp 2]

The biggest tip I can give is get up regularly and move around, which is something I am very poor at.

[torros 23816xp 2]

Cant really comment as I find the most comfortable posture is to sit cross legged on the floor

[sundancer 42976xp 0]

I agree with @robert best would be a desk that moves up and down so that you could use it sitting and standing. If that’s not an option get up every 30 – 60 Minutes and stretch. Take a walk to the loo or the kitchen and stretch again before sitting down.

@torros you sure you’re human? 😉

[shingen 13941xp 1]

Have you tried paining in upright position? If not, try to find something high enough to rest your elbows while standing (kitchen counter, even a shelf in a bookcase). If it works, buy yourself a table with wide regulation of worktop height and change it regularly from standing to siting (like every 30 minutes). You can find such tables even in Ikea, and some even have remote controls, how cool is that? 😉

 

EDIT: ninjad by @sundancer

[halfmileduckParticipant 4021xp 0]

That is a great idea, I find sitting for hours and hours can cause pain. I tend to get really involved in the project that I am painting and am so focused that hours pass and I stand up and then realise that I am crippled. I need to be better at setting an alarm or something to remind me. Perhaps we can do hobby stretches with Gerry!

[soulman 2945xp 0]

Thank you all for your replies.. ( not sure what went wrong with my text words went weird… ) and thanks for talking about this.. i do watch painting videos, but nothing i seen have talked about sitting ( or even standing ) in them. I will look into this and thanks for the support ( or lack of it..!!!! ).

[maledrakhParticipant 11996xp 1]

That is actually a great topic for a discussion and video

Another related question: Do those of you who make painting videos use the same posture when filming and when just painting for yourself?

I ask because as far as I can tell many painters who film will need to accommodate the camera and hold the mini in the same position over any given length of time.

It seems many hold the mini at table height and therefore probably needs to bend over to see them…I know that if I had to bend over like that I would get serious back pains in short order.

So, how does everyone do it?

 

 

 

[Anonymous 0xp 0]

That is actually a great topic for a discussion and video

It is if you are an expert in ergonomics, but pretty pointless if you aren’t.

[m30wm1x 2318xp 0]

@torros glad that I’m not the only one.

A quick bit, from what I can remember of desgin for the ergonomics of sitting there are 2 main ways of arsing down.

With an active core, such as cross legged, swiss ball or kneeling chair. This can help as it keeps the muscles engaged and can build strength but isn’t a comfy sit down. Good for lower back/lumbar pain/upper arse soreness, after developing more strength. Also standing desks in this category.

Classic seated, this is kind of a catch all for arse and back contact. A huge list of various designs and needs some trial and error to find what suits. With that said, low back hurts try a stiffer seat first before lots of lower back cusioning/lumbar support, a small pad on a hard high backed dining chair is a good start. Middle back is usuall slouch so try a short backed comfy, less behind shoulders to roll them forward and watch for bring your arms to you i.e. elbows<90degrees hard when detail painting I know. Upper back neck is usually looking down so try to find what’s in front of your face when looking directly forward when seated and use risers to put screens on the desk at that height an try not to look too low, elbow on armrests and shoulders back again could help.

[totsuzenheniParticipant 5651xp 0]

I would think standing is best because it requires some muscle use and ‘natural’ movement, which means that a very low level of exercise is being maintained throughout. Getting up and moving about is also good, as are stretching exercises.

In addition to what’s been said about sitting above, i would add that if sitting in a ‘standard’ chair the knees should preferably be lower than the hips and, as a secondary consideration, the feet should be directly below the knees or even behind the knees, but preferably not out in front of the knees. This kind of posturing means that the spine retains it’s default curvature. At least, this is what i’ve read and practiced and this is the case in my experience.

[ced1106Participant 6224xp 0]

Sit on a stool in front of a deck. Anchor wrists to the desk, and elbows to knees. However, I only paint for a short amount of time, maybe 15 minutes, more than one session per day. assembly-line. I think I’ve seen only one article on posture and painting, written with the help of a physical therapist. Wasn’t more than common sense, though.

Avoid sitting, or at least prioritize which activities you will spend sitting. I spend a fair amount of my time on my back, particularly with the social isolation. I also have a bedtime stand so I can read my tablet upside-down. Basically, improving your painting posture alone isn’t going to help if you do other activities that don’t help your back.

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