
Product details
- Blick SKU
- 21918-3763
About this product range
Blockx Soft Pastels are handmade in Belgium using pure pigments in the same tradition started by company founder and chemist Jacques Blockx in 1844. Four subsequent generations of Blockx family members have combined traditional methods with modern chemistry to create artist's colors that are pure, permanent, lightfast, and stable.
Colors are named in such a way as to make it easy for artists to choose the exact shades they need. For example, Apple Green's five shades are: Apple Green 641, Apple Green 642, Apple Green 643, Apple Green 644, and Apple Green 645.
If the color name ends in:
- 1 — the pure color is upgraded with black
- 2 — this is the pure color
- 3 — the pure color is tinted with white
- 4 — the pure color is tinted with more white
- 5 — the pure color is tinted with much more white
These watersoluble pastels are soft and velvety in texture, possess a superb tinting strength, and will draw on any surface, although they're best-suited for pastel paper.
Individually wrapped pastel sticks are 2-1/2" L x 1/2" Dia (65 mm x 12 mm).
Pigment information
General reference notes about pigments can describe other media (such as oil). They do not verify this product’s exact formulation or behavior.
Mars Black
- Pigment code
- PBk11
- Type
- earth
- Chemical name
- iron oxides
- Chemical formula
- FeO or Fe2O3
- Properties
- Mars Black is an opaque black with a strong and cool masstone, a slightly warm tint, and a warm brown undertone. It is not as black as Ivory Black, but it dries more quickly and has three times the tinting strength. Mars Black is normally the only black available in acrylic form and that is safe to over paint. It can be used in all media without reservation and is widely used as an alternative to Lamp Black and Ivory Black.
- Permanence
- Mars Black is very lightfast with excellent permanence.
- Toxicity
- Mars Black has no significant hazards and is the only major black pigment considered non-toxic.
- History
- The word Mars refers to the Roman god of iron and war. Mars Black was developed in the early 20th century from inorganic, synthetic iron oxide.
- Description
- Black Iron Oxide, Iron Black, Magnetic Oxide, Mapico Black, Mineral Black. Sometimes labeled as Vine Black.
Titanium White
- Pigment code
- PW6
- Type
- inorganic
- Chemical name
- titanium dioxide
- Chemical formula
- TiO2
- Properties
- Titanium White is the most brilliant of the white pigments. It is considered an all purpose oil color useful in all techniques and the best all around white. Its masstone is neither warm nor cool, placing it somewhere between Lead White and Zinc White. It is less prone to cracking and yellowing than Lead White, but it still yellows easily. Titanium White dries slowly in oil form, more slowly than Lead White but more quickly than Zinc White. It is opaque in oil and acrylic forms and semi-opaque in watercolor form. This pigment has good chemical stability, and its tinting strength is superior to both Lead White and Zinc White.
- Permanence
- Titanium White has excellent permanence and lightfastness.
- Toxicity
- Titanium dioxide is highly stable and is regarded as non-toxic.
- History
- Titanium is the ninth most abundant element in the Earth's crust, however mineral deposits that are economical to mine are less common. Titanium dioxide was first discovered in 1821, although it could not be mass produced until 1919. Widespread use of the pigment began in the 1940s. Since that time, it has become the most commonly used white pigment. The name comes from the Latin word Titan, the name for the elder brother of Kronos and ancestor of the Titans, and from the Greek word tito, meaning day or sun.
Natural Light Red Iron Oxide
- Pigment code
- PR102
- Type
- inorganic, natural
- Chemical name
- iron oxide
- Chemical formula
- Fe2O2
- Properties
- Natural Light Red Iron Oxide is a brick red pigment with a bright, scarlet top tone. Mineral sources vary considerably in both hue and transparency. It is generally opaque and has great tinting strength and hiding power, but more transparent versions are available. It creates salmon pinks when mixed with white. Natural Light Red Iron Oxide is often replaced by Mars colors or bright red oxides, which are cleaner and more powerful.
- Permanence
- Natural Light Red Iron Oxide has excellent permanence and lightfastness.
- Toxicity
- Natural Light Red Iron Oxide has no significant hazards.
- History
- Natural red iron oxide comes from the mineral ore hematite, called bloodstone by the ancient Greeks from the word hema, meaning blood. It is one of the oldest pigments, has been used by every major civilization, and was an important mineral for medieval alchemists. It was not widely used in artists' materials until the 17th century and was not produced in large quantities until the 18th century.
- Description
- Antwerp Red, Bole, Light Red, Colcothar, English Red, Morelle Salt, Persian Red, Persian Gulf Oxide, Poliment, Pompeian Red, Prussian Brown, Prussian Red, Red Iron Oxide, Sinopia, Spanish Red, Turkey Red.
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