Icarus Art Drawing Board: Fresh new look at wax based mediums!

-Grace Ireland Cowling

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"I've only owned my Icarus Drawing Board for a little over two months, but I've been very impressed by it. It's quite a time saver, and I love the way that I can achieve a more dense, saturated look with my pencils".

-Carla Deger (tatsinda@msn.com, see "Babuji's Revelation"in the Gallery)

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"I just got back from my husband's family reunion in "Nowhere", Arkansas.... Anyway, I took all of my colored pencils and a couple of pieces with me to work on. But having been used to the Icarus Board, I found it a challenge to return to my old techniques. So being the creative genius I delude myself in claiming, I thought "if I were a cave woman and the Icarus Board hadn't been invented yet, "what would I do"? I used a heating pad with an illustration board on top. It worked pretty well! (Don't tell Ester.) Actually, I love my Board and I would recommend one to anyone. The heating pad just kept me sane until I could get home to mine".

- Kathy Lally

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"I just wanted to say that I love the drawing board! I finished one piece with it and I know it's helping me move my work to the next level, at a much faster pace. It really helped with blending the colors and the tutorials that you gave helped tremendously!... Thank you so much for inventing this board, I love it so much. It was such a worthy investment for me and I've been recommending it to other artists."

- Erica Vojnich (see "Looking Forward" in the Gallery)

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"...using the Icarus drawing board is becoming every day more interesting. In particular I used it with Derwent Artists and Caran d'Ache Pablo colored pencils. On the cool side of Idb I can get superior control, whereas on the warm zone I obtain a soft and creamy touch... All my best and once again my congratulations for Icarus, your wonderful creature."

- Mauro Serra - Italy (see "Sublimating Cherry" in the Gallery)

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Just wanted to let you know how wonderful your invention is. I can now do skies without spending hours and hours as I used to with colored pencil alone. The Icarus is well made, easy to use and very versatile. It has added a new dimension to my work using it with neocolor 2 pastels along with colored pencil. Thanks for a great product.

- Elmer Hewitt ( see "Windswept" in the Gallery)

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"I've been a Faber Castell pencil fan, but I'm not beyond using Prismacolors from time to time. I was working on a drawing and needed to do a large, dark silhoueyye area in the front . I figured it would take me an hour or more sawing away with my Faber Castells. So I put it on the Icarus Board, used my black Prismacolor - and I had my black silhouette in maybe two minutes! It looks great.

- Karen Rhiner  (http://www.rhinerart.com)

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"I love my Icarus Art board!  It has made blending colors enjoyable and exciting rather than a chore.  Drawing has always been my first love in art and I rediscovered my love of colored pencils a few years ago.  Last year I purchased an Icarus Board out of curiosity and quickly fell in love with the ease and expansion it provided in blending techniques.  I especially prefer to use it with my larger pieces."

- Heather Mewis (http://www.featheredfriendsmementos.com)

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"Love-Love-Love my board!"

- Christine Goldman

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"The background area in "Pride and Joy" (see it in the Gallery) was done using Neocolors II and the Icarus Board. I really love the way the Icarus Board works for this type of background. It helps to do a very large area very quickly. I just love using that board."

- Gemma Gylling (http://www.glassgems.net)

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"I love working in this medium. When I was doing this piece it just flowed and I didn't want to stop working on it. You know when you are in that zone and things are melding. I was on a high with the way it was flowing together, I was really excited. In one area one flower petal wasn't right and I was able to correct it easily. I was surprised, thought I'd maybe ruined my piece. This technique is amazing and fun. I really started this piece as just learning how to work with the oil pastel, pastel, crayola and colored pencil all together and the piece I sent you just evolved. I'd love to sing your praises. I've been an artist for over 30 years. I started in oil, have worked in acrylic and two years ago attended a workshop with Ann Kullberg in Colored pencil. My interests are still life and portraiture. The Icarus Board has got me excited again. When I do a portrait in colored pencil, I intend to do the clothing and background in the wax medium. But right now I'm excited to start another still life. I reside in Great Bend, Kansas."

- Sherry Goeller (see "Tranquility" in the Gallery)

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"I had to have your invention for the love of the art but also because I have been plagued with such chronic tendinitis in my right elbow for the past 15 years that I have been resigned to getting shots into it every 6-9 months so I don't lose the use of it (I am right handed). Of course the constant movement involved in blending and burnishing colored pencils is a major aggravation. So I could not resist your invention. But I must add that your resulting display of colors is exactly what I work so hard for and your invention looks like it will give it to me with a lot more ease. I am thrilled. I spent 5 seconds with it and could already tell it is exactly what I need and so desire in my own form of using colored pencils as a painting medium. WOW! I cannot express my sheer thrill of hope with your Icarus Drawing Board and what I think it is going to mean to my health and my future art work.

Thanks So Very Much for inventing such a wonderful tool and then for sharing it with the rest of us".

Lori Zachwieja (www.LZFineart.com)

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"The Icarus Drawing Board makes it fun to experiment with the wax based mediums....it is the perfect marriage of wax pastels and colored pencils".

- Deb Mason (see "Petals Amongst the Bovine" in the Gallery)

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"I am so appreciating the marvelous drawing board! Did your husband build and patent it? I had become quite discouraged over my art, because my arthritis had limited my ability to lug stuff around and go to classes to learn oils or go plein aire/alla prima painting with friends. I had always been better at water color, graphite, and colored pencil and put myself down because of friends doing oils. A group I am now in is doing 12 trading cards for mid February's meeting. I had not worked small in a long while. Your board came and I started out with my Prismacolors on those tiny works, only to catch on to how the board works, plus how easily I could add my Sennelier oil pastels on top, and Ifeel replenished! A retired maternal child RN, I have written two little kid books and originally went to a JC to take art to learn to illustrate them. After trying to take an 8 hour art academy course in soft pastels, I'd given up on both those and oils, as well as illustrating my books. Between the board and the small works for the trading cards, I am feeling it is a possibility! So I feel my middle of the night exploration on the internet and finding your work has helped me accept my arthritis, my age, my possibilities, and given me back a thankful, happy heart."

- Sally Boyd