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Blockx Soft Pastel - Cobalt Blue 533

Soft Pastel

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  • Blick Art Materials
    $6.16 USDShop
    Recorded Oct 22, 2026, 12:41 AM UTC

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Product details
Blick SKU
21918-5533
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.

Phthalo Blue

Pigment code
PB15:1
Type
organic
Chemical name
alpha copper phthalocyanine
Chemical formula
C32H16CuN8
Properties
Phthalo Blue PB15:1 is a structural variant of Phthalo Blue PB15 that produces more reddish tones.
Permanence
Phthalo Blues are completely lightfast and stable and are permanent for all paint uses. They are currently used in inks, coatings, and many plastics due to their stability and are considered a standard pigment in printing ink and the packaging industry.
Toxicity
Phthalo Blues have no significant hazards, although those made before 1982 contained some PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls).
History
Developed by chemists using the trade name Monastral Blue, the organic blue dyestuff now known as Phthalo Blue was presented as a pigment in November 1935 in London. Its discovery was accidental. The dark color was observed in a kettle where a dye was being made from a British dyestuff plant. The demand for such a pigment came from commercial printers who wanted a cyan to replace Prussian Blue.
Description
Phthalo Blue Red Shade, Winsor Blue Red Shade

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.

Cobalt Chromite Blue Green Spinel

Pigment code
PB36
Type
inorganic
Chemical name
Oxides of Cobalt and Chromium
Chemical formula
Co(Al,Cr)2O4
Properties
Cobalt Chromite Blue is an opaque pigment with moderately low tinting strength.
Permanence
Cobalt salts have excellent lightfastness and temperature stability.
Toxicity
Cobalt salts are toxic when ingested or inhaled, and slightly toxic on contact with the skin. Evidence of Chromium(III) carcinogenicity is inconclusive. Chromium(III) salts appear in greenish pigments.
Description
Cobalt Turquoise, Shepherd Blue, Cerulean Blue Chromium

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