Although they were both born and raised in Italy, Mario Bassi and Ester Roi met in California and have been married over twenty years.  Ester’s passion for artistic expression and invention found its partner in Mario’s business acumen, and together they developed the Icarus Drawing Board.  It was while considering names for their new company that the Greek myth of Icarus came to mind.

Mythology of Icarus

Icarus and his father, Daedalus, attempted to escape from their exile in Crete. Daedalus, a master craftsman, fashioned a pair of wings made of feathers and held together with wax for himself and his son. Before leaving the island, Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too close to the sun, explaining that the wax would melt. But overcome by the sublime feeling of flying, Icarus soared through the sky joyfully.  As he did, he came too close to the sun.  His wings melted and he plunged into the sea that now bears his name, the Icarian Sea off the coast of Crete.

Genesis of the Icarus Drawing Board

By Ester Roi
In early 2005, when I resolved to take my lifelong passion for art to a professional level, I put my weekend oil paints aside in favor of colored pencils. I was pretty familiar with this medium since I had used it as a child and as a student in college. My interest was focused on a technique called "colored pencil painting" which aims to achieve the same level of color saturation and density that is characteristic of acrylic or oil.

While searching for methods that would facilitate the blending and burnishing of my wax-based colored pencils, I decided to experiment with heat. I put a metal pan on the stove, turned it upside down, placed a piece of paper on top and began drawing. I soon discovered how remarkable the effect of heat was on my colored pencils and crayons and decided to build a home-made "heated drawing board" from scratch. In spite of the many shortcomings of my first prototype, I persisted and became a true believer in this new technique.

Going from a home-made prototype through a patent application and finally to a commercially viable product was an arduous journey. This would have never been possible without my husband's business knowledge and his personal involvement in our project.

As my experience and enthusiasm for the Icarus Drawing Board continue to grow, I have embraced other wax-based media beside colored pencils and as a result my artwork is becoming larger, faster and more painterly.

Above all the Icarus Drawing Board has given me freedom. I don't worry about brushes, solvents, premixing, drying time or clean-up.  I use very few tools, I mix my colors directly on the surface, I draw or paint with the same medium, I change my mind and rework any parts. Nothing interferes between me and my artwork as I fully engage in the creative process.

As you have probably concluded by now, my oil paints are still on the shelf collecting dust.

Icarus Art, Inc.
31292 Via Fajita, San Juan Capistrano, California 92675
(949) 481-4010 - Fax (949) 496-8186
e-mail: sales@icarusart.net

Ester Roi

I paint details of nature that I know intimately, like my garden flowers grown from seeds or the beach pebbles observed on daily walks. Water often serves as a playground for drifting flowers or distortions, transparencies, and dissolving hues that delight the eye.

Although nature stirs my curiosity, it’s the quality of color and how it changes that offers a perpetual challenge. How far can color be pushed? Nature’s subjects always take a backseat to color, which filled my childhood with magic in the form of crayons, colored pencils, and oil pastels. After studying traditional paint media, I returned to the immediacy of those “color sticks.”

The technique I invented, where wax-based media is melted on a heated drawing board, is a tribute to the memory of early experiences. Pigments are mixed directly on the warm surface and carefully blended into smooth gradations. The finished artwork resembles oil or acrylic paintings, but is intriguing enough to always be a conversation starter.

http://esterroi.com