Markal/Shiva Paintsticks

I got my Markal paint sticks out for the first time in a while and have been busy experimenting. The paint sticks are known as Markal in the UK and Shiva in the USA although they are both the same thing. There are two different kinds the irridescent ones and standard (non irridescent).

The beauty of them is that they don't dry out. I have had my non irridescent ones for 10 years and they work as well now as they did then. A fine film covers them when they are not in use. Once you remove the film you can use the sticks as though they were new.


The colours can be used individually as I have done with the above sample.

Or they can be blended together as you can see above. The paintsticks are made from highly refined drying oils blended with fine pigments and come in a variety of colours.

I used rubbing plates for these samples.

They can be used all many surfaces including wood, metal and fabrics.

I added some interesting designs to my cookery apron. It's not very clear in the above image but I used two colours blended together to give a unique apron.

The background I have used for these samples is 100% cotton batik. The design is dry within 24 hours although I usually leave it a little longer to dry (48 hours) before I use the fabric.


If you are going to wash the fabric then it is wise to heat set it beforehand. It cannot be dry cleaned.

Although I have used rubbings for these samples you can stencil with them and use them directly on the fabric. They work equally well on paper/cardboard. You can also buy blendable sticks. I use these with a "pallette" the kind artists use which comes in a pad. The paintsticks blend well and you can get a variety of different colours. I think both types of paint stick work well on either light or dark fabrics although the irridescent ones look stunning on black!

I will post some more of my samples later.