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
• 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 2½" long × ½" diameter (65 mm × 12 mm).