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Great American Handmade Pastel - Midnight 5, 250.5
Pastel
Recorded retailer price · not live
$4.60
Blick Art Materials · recorded 2026-10-21T12:43:56.792803000Z
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Product details
- Blick SKU
- 21925-2305
About this product range
Great American Art Works’ owner is a chemist, and his initial research into pastel production focused on the materials and methods of established companies. He soon discovered that old techniques produced old pastels! By employing new materials, techniques, and equipment, he eventually discovered the right combination of ingredients and methods.
Today, Great American Art Works handmade soft pastels are recognized the world over for their excellence. Richly pigmented, these pastels have superb brilliance of tone. The Full Stick pastels measure 1/2" x 2-1/4" (1.7 cm x 5.7 cm), and the Half-Stick pastels measure 1/2" x 1-1/8" (1.7 cm x 2.8 cm). Shapes of pastels may vary.
Sets are designed by accomplished pastel artists, each set is arranged in a reusable cardboard box adorned by artwork inspired by the selection within.
__Try Me sets include a random assortment of pastels selected by Great American Art Works. No two sets will be alike. Color substitutions in other sets may occur at the discretion of Great American Artworks.__
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.
Prussian Blue
- Pigment code
- PB27
- Type
- inorganic
- Chemical name
- ferric ferrocyanide/iron(III)-hexacyanoferrate(II)
- Chemical formula
- Fe7(CN)18(H2O)x or C6FeN6H4N
- Properties
- Prussian Blue is a semi-transparent, deep cyan-blue with a greenish undertone and a very high tinting strength unequaled by most pigments. It is similar to Phthalo Blue unless mixed with white, when it gives up intensity and becomes smoky. It can behave erratically and less reliably in oil and watercolor form depending on its manufacture. For permanent painting Phthalo Blue is considered a more reliable choice.
- Permanence
- Prussian Blue is lightfast and permanent in all techniques except for fresco. When mixed with Zinc White in watercolor or tempera form, it fades upon exposure to light and completely regains its chromatic strength in the dark. Modern manufacturing techniques have made this tendency less of an issue in recent years
- Toxicity
- Prussian Blue is moderately toxic if ingested. It will emit toxic hydrogen cyanide gas if heated, exposed to ultraviolet radiation, or treated with acid.
- History
- "The first of the modern pigments," Prussian Blue is the first artificial pigment with a known history. It was discovered by accident in 1704 by the Berlin color maker Heinrich Diesbach, who was trying to create a pigment with a red hue by mixing iron sulfate and potash. The potash Diesbach purchased from a local laboratory had been contaminated by animal oil and blood during previous experimentation. The resulting mixture yielded a very pale red that changed to purple and then deep blue when he tried to concentrate it. Since previous blue pigments came from lapis lazuli, an expensive stone, Diesbach’s discovery was extremely important for artists of the time.
- Description
- Berlin Blue, Bronze Blue, Iron Blue, Paris Blue, Paste Blue. Celestial Blue, Monthier Blue and Soluble Blue are varieties of Prussian Blue. Blue Lake is a reduced or let-down variety of Prussian Blue. Chinese Blue, Milori Blue, and Steel Blue are the three highest grades of Prussian Blue.
Calcium Carbonate
- Pigment code
- PW18
- Type
- inorganic
- Chemical name
- calcium carbonate
- Chemical formula
- CaCO3
- Properties
- Calcium carbonate, the mineral constituent of chalk, is a low tinting strength, inexpensive white pigment that is often used is a buffer and filler. Because of its low tinting strength, it is overwhelmed by other colors. It is used in gesso and other coatings to give the surface more tooth, a desirable characteristic for some painting techniques.
- Permanence
- Calcium carbonate is lightfast. Like all carbonates, it reacts with strong acids
- Toxicity
- Calcium carbonate is completely non-toxic, and is used in many food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical products. However, excessive consumption is not recommended.
- History
- Naturally occuring chalk deposits have been mined since prehistoric times. Rocks and minerals that contain calcium carbonate include aragonite, calcite, vaterite, chalk, limestone. marble, and travertine. Calcium carbonate is the principle component of lime, used in many agricultural and industrial applications.
- Description
- Chalk
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.
Lamp Black
- Pigment code
- PBk6
- Type
- inorganic
- Chemical name
- carbon
- Chemical formula
- C
- Properties
- Lamp black is a very opaque, heavily staining black pigment that does not have much covering power. It is typically the most opaque black in watercolor form. Though a very pure black, it tends to muddy slightly in mixtures, is one of the slowest drying pigments in oils, and should not be used under other colors.
- Permanence
- Lamp Black is very lightfast and absolutely permanent. It is used in all techniques in permanent painting.
- Toxicity
- Lamp Black is slightly toxic by skin contact and inhalation. It is a possible human carcinogen.
- History
- Lamp Black is a carbon based black traditionally produced by collecting soot (known as lampblack) from oil lamps. It is the black found in Egyptian murals and tomb decorations and was the most popular black for frescoing until the development of Mars Black.
- Description
- Carbon Black, Channel Black, Oil Black, Vegetable Black. Flame Black is an impure version of Lamp Black.
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