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Blockx Soft Pastel - Payne's Gray 701

Soft Pastel

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$6.16

Blick Art Materials · recorded Oct 21, 2026, 5:07 AM UTC

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Product details
Blick SKU
21918-2701
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.

Ultramarine [Blue]

Pigment code
PB29
Type
inorganic
Chemical name
complex silicate of sodium and aluminum with sulfur
Chemical formula
Na8-10Al6Si6O24S2-4 or Na6-8Al6Si6O24S2-4
Properties
Ultramarine is the standard warm blue, a brilliant blue pigment that has the most purple and least green in its undertone. It has a moderate to high tinting strength and a beautiful transparency. Synthetic Ultramarine is not as vivid a blue as natural Ultramarine. Ultramarine dries slowly in oil and tends to produce clean, though granular, washes in watercolor. French Ultramarine mixes well with Alizarin colors in oil and watercolor form to create a range of purples and violets. It can dull when mixed with white in acrylic form, but mixes well with other colors. The shade varies based on manufacturer. Considered a great color for glazes, it is not suitable for frescoing.
Permanence
Ultramarine has excellent permanence, although synthetic Ultramarine is not as permanent as natural Ultramarine. It may discolor if exposed to acid because of its sulfuric content.
Toxicity
Ultramarine has no significant hazards.
History
The name for this pigment comes from the Middle Latin ultra, meaning beyond, and mare, meaning sea, because it was imported from Asia to Europe by sea. It is a prominent component of lapis lazuli and was used on Asian temples starting in the 6th century. It was one of the most expensive pigments in 16th century Europe, worth twice its weight in gold, and so was used sparingly and when commissions were larger. Ultramarine is currently imitated by a process invented in France in 1826 by Jean Baptiste Guimet, making blue affordable to artists and extending the range of colors on their palettes.
Description
Artificial Ultramarine, French Blue, French Ultramarine, Gmelin's Blue, Guimet's Blue, Permanent Blue, Royal Blue, Synthetic Ultramarine. New Blue describes particular shades of Ultramarine. Armenian Blue and Lazuline Blue are names for genuine Lapiz Ultramarine. Sky Blue is a pale tone of Ultramarine.

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