Giant Watercolor Pans, #161 Green Earth

Blockx Giant Watercolor Pans are small-batch European watercolors, poured by hand into beautiful, oversized porcelain pans. Each Giant Pan measures 3" x 2.25" at its widest point and contains about eight times as much watercolor as an ordinary half pan.

The huge surface area at the top of the Giant Pan is a showcase for the unique characteristics of each fine pigment used to make Blockx watercolors. Some Giant Pans have lots of little bubbles, some have glossy, smooth surfaces, and others look like cracked desert earth. Each color wets and handles a little differently, and the wide variety in Giant Pans' appearance is an elegant reminder that our paints come from many different minerals and organic chemicals, all with their own personality.

We carry the full range of 72 Giant Pans, all made with gum arabic and honey by Blockx, one of the oldest and finest paintmakers in the world. The Blockx legacy begins in 1865 with Jacques Blockx I, a Belgian chemist who developed his own formulas for permanent paints. His pioneering work was quickly noticed by prominent painters, who had largely been producing their own paints by hand and were eager to explore a broader, more consistent range of colors. Salvador Dalí wrote about Jacques Blockx I: "This man who never painted, will contribute more to the painters of tomorrow than what we will have accomplished, all the modern painters together."

Five generations of Blockx family chemists have continued in the tradition of the company's founder, producing only the highest quality paints using traditional stone mills, small batches, and low speeds. This labor-intensive process allows the individual qualities of each pigment to shine through, and you will notice that each Blockx watercolor is different in texture, flow, intensity, and finish.

Unlike other brands, Blockx colors are not individually rated for lightfastness, because every color is permanent and suitable for museum-quality work. These artisan-made paints will suit even the most demanding professional artist, and we are very excited to make them available to our customers in the United States.