Derwent Inktense Block 72 Tin

These Inktense blocks are a creative person’s dream! I love them and also have pencils. These can be used like a paint pallet or pastel - on fabric, iron to seal and it will was well. They are definitely a treasured box of colours for me!

I attend an Art Group in the Hathersage area and as we all paint in different media and styles, it seemed a very good opportunity to take the Inktense Blocks with me. They caused great interest, so much so that a friend had a go with them too and as the blocks snapped in half easily, it didn't cause any problems sharing the Inktense Blocks. My friend painted a lovely cockerel and I had a great time painting a landscape. We were highly enthusiastic with them, and as I had also taken my set of Inktense Pencils with me I was able to mix the two together on my picture. My friend thoroughly enjoyed her day, especially as initially, she had been a bit stuck for ideas. She said she was definitely going to send off for a set too. We both liked the way they were so flexible in use, in that they could be used wet or dry, made very interesting marks, and seemed to work well on different surfaces.. Also, having the 36 Pack gave us a very good range of colour choice and would be much easier and less messier than taking watercolours on holiday. All in all a very good product and we can thoroughly recommend it.

I love the range of this product for safely layering colour washes without 'muddying' previous layers. You can achieve a luminous effect easily. The versatility of this product is that you can draw with the blocks and activate with water or you can use it as a 'watercolour' pan. The colours are vibrant and crisp or soft and dreamy according to use.

As an Art Quilter I am always looking for new ways to make my quilts unique. I'd heard about Derwent Inktense Pencils and Inktense Blocks but when I saw the prices in the Art Store I passed them by. Luckily I am a Prime Member on Amazon and as I was looking for some supplies I needed I found this box of of the complete set of the Derwent Inktense Blocks for an unbelievably low price and bought them immediately. I am so glad I did and I am doubly glad I am smart enough to be an Amazon Prime member! The learning curve for these blocks is much easier than for the pencils (at least that's what I've heard). I watched some videos on YouTube, found a couple that pertained to quilting and that was all I needed to get me started. These blocks are amazing when used on silk. Usually coloring silk can be very iffy, depending on whether you use paint or dye. Nothing could be easier than coloring silk with these blocks. If you dye silk you have to steam it to set the dye, try setting it in a microwave, use a product that might or might not set it completely, or try something called batching. If you use textile paint you can't just paint it on the table top, the silk must be raised up on a frame using pins made especially for painting silk. Also, it has to be heat set, something that's hard to do on silk because the amount of heat needed to set the paint can be be too high for silk. Not so with these wonderful blocks. They are permanent once the fabric is dry and the colors are stunning on silk. They are great on cotton too, but on silk they are amazing! I am lucky enough to have a wonderful stock of silk that I hadn't gotten around to dyeing yet and now I don't ever have to bother with dyeing any of my silk again. I will use these blocks in the future. The makers of the blocks sell a grater that allows you to mix the colors with water but I found that device didn't get the particles small enough. So I followed the advice on one of the videos I saw and used what's used in a Pharmacy to grind drugs into powder. It's called a morter and pestal (and I know I've spelled it incorrectly) but however it's spelled it worked like a dream to get the bits of block extremely fine so they mix with the water without any little bits getting on the fabric. I found some small bottles with eyedroppers for tops and put the mixture into them and either used the eyedroppers or a small brush to put the color on the silk. So easy and such wonderful results. These products are made in the UK and some friends I have over there can't afford to buy them because they are very pricey. Once I use up all my blocks I will be in the same boat unless Amazon has another sale, but until then I am having such a wonderful time coloring my silk. However, with 72 colors to use up it will be a long time before I have to worry about restocking. Besides, since I am an experienced fabric dyer I know which colors to mix together to get the color I want so some of the colors I would normally never use will be mixed with another one to make something beautiful. Because I saved so much on this set of blocks I might even try the pencils. I just wish these had been invented ages ago when I was using dye to color my silks. At least I don't ever have to go through that agony again!

I was very lucky compared to some of the customers who purchased as my tin arrived in perfect condition with none of the sticks damaged. Each section on the inside of the tin was securely wrapped in cellophane so none of the sticks could move to contaminate other sticks as some of the previous purchasers mentioned. I'm not sure if this is a new thing. The Inktense sticks themselves are a joy to use. They go down so smoothly on the paper although there are some variances in softness along the colour range. They blend beautifully with water and the colours are gorgeous and vivid, although you can make them more subtle with mixing. I really love using them. The only thing I felt was missing was some kind of colour chart for identification of how the colours are when wet, as it is really difficult to know what colour you will end up with looking at the dry sticks. I made my own and have stuck it in the tin for reference. Overall thrilled with my purchase. Great value for such a lot of colours.