I saw an ad for a 3 legged easel in a magazine and liked the concept. I found a nice tripod in a thrift store, then bought some haevy duty woodworker's clamps, plus found a lamp clamp I had lying around, and built a similar item.  The three legs turn any stretched canvas into its own easel by putting clamps on the top and sides. Here is an image:

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The legs can be extended to standing height or seated height. 

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I found the edges of stretched canvas to not be consistent so next made small "cleats" of wood that can be screwed to the back of the canvas and then clamped onto. I used 1" drywall screws that penetrate the wood enough to be firm, but not too deep to damage the stretchers. Below is the setup with the cleats installed. On the right is the setup used outdoors with a 16x22 canvas.

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Another good  feature is that in windy conditions, you can bungee or attach a bag or any weight to the back leg to provide stability.

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