Wacky Palette with Inktense Blocks

 

1/13/26 photo reference (Neocolor II and Inktense Blocks in
Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook)

While I’ve been enjoying experimenting with my values-based palette idea using Caran d’Ache Neocolor II water-soluble crayons, I remembered a similarly chunky yet radically different product I’ve also enjoyed: Derwent Inktense Blocks. A few years ago, I played with them enough to learn a bit about their idiosyncrasies, which can be both intriguing and frustrating. Eventually I grew to like them, even if they are a strange animal.

Sadly, I have rarely used them in the field because they’re even harder to carry than Neocolor crayons: Though lighter in weight, they are almost as bulky, and even worse, they break easily. I’ve found, however, that they fit in the slots of my tiny Peg & Awl Sendak, so I’m hoping they would be protected if I take them out with me.

As a preliminary trial of a values-based palette, and to reacquaint myself with Inktense Blocks’ quirks (many of which there are), I made some sketches from photos. Right off the bat, one difficulty is that the Blocks range includes very few hues that could be considered light in value – they are all extremely vibrant and lean toward the darker ranges.

One thing that’s remarkable about the Blocks is that they perform incomparably when applied dry to wet paper – an explosion of intense color! When I use that technique with Neocolor II crayons, they do dissolve more completely than when they are activated on dry paper, but the wax-based binder requires a bit of scrubbing. The Blocks dissolve thoroughly with very little effort. That’s not always a good thing – it’s hard to get a subtle effect when I want one – but the Blocks sure are efficient when I want to cover a large area with solid color.

For the first sketch (top of post), my reference photo was taken during one of my golden-hour walks last summer. I had nothing among the Blocks I own that was light enough for the sky, so I used Neocolor II crayons for that. I had also been wondering how well Blocks would apply over waxy Neos, which can act as a resist to some media (such as some colored pencils), so it was a good test of that. The whole sketch was made dry-on-wet. You can see how the Neos didn’t dissolve completely (unless I had gone back in and scrubbed with a brush, which I didn’t), while the Inktense Blocks almost completely covered the Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook surface. I had no problem applying the Blocks over the Neos.

1/14/26 photo reference (Inktense Blocks in Hahnemuhle
Akademie Aquarelle sketchbook)

I used only Inktense Blocks in the second sketch (at right). The house and front foliage were applied dry, then activated with a brush. I sketched the trees dry-on-wet.

And hey, if that second scene looks familiar, it should: It’s the Maple Leaf Mother Grove that I sketched from life a few days ago. If you’ll recall, I irrationally couldn’t get past my own resistance to using unrealistic colors for a reportage sketch. Knowing that these trees will likely be cut down, I had taken some photos, so I had one to use for reference. At the time, I thought my “real” colors were appropriate, but now I think I like this “unreal” sketch better. But is it “better” in terms of documenting an event? Am I still honoring the trees if I sketch them in blue and brownish-purple? Hearing myself ask that question, I realize it sounds ridiculous. It’s my sketching of them that honors them, regardless of the colors I use. What do you think? (My original on-location sketch shown below.)

1/13/26 sketched on location