Nova Color Artists’ Acrylic Paint

I have been using Nova Colors since 1992 and have never been disappointed. I use the paint for indoor and outdoor murals and for furniture and fine art. The amazing thing is I still have money to buy food after spending on paint!

I am really glad I decided to try Nova Color a few months ago. I paint signs and other things. It is just right. I like the consistency, just the way I like it and it does not bother my allergies like some paints.

This is by far the best paint I have used. There is no point on comparing it with Liquitex or any other popular brand. Nova has an unique texture. The viscosity is perfect. I am a professional artist and I use this specific brand. The colors are highly pigmented. IF you are a knowledgeable artist you will know that Nova Color has different classifications within colors. For example, they have carbon black, which is high in pigment and offers 100% coverage on the first layer, and Ivory black, which is transparent and I personally use it as a transparent layer. Then they have the pearl colors which offer a beautiful 3D effect to my paintings.

I have been using Nova Paint since the mid-’70’s when I was in art school. Great value and great paint. In some ways, their paint is similar to Golden Fluid acrylics. Far more economical, beautiful pigments. This is not bargain paint. It is just priced that way!

I’ve been using Nova Color paint mediums professionally for wall finishes for over 20 years. The mediums are wonderful. I use the 205 as my medium and tint with other colors, iridescent colors or just with liquid pigment. It is VERY durable for use in high traffic areas.
Very good product line.

Great selection of high quality colors and great service! While I was at the store, they gave me their color chart and it was very helpful. I only use Nova Color for painting (acrylics) :)

I am a fine art painter. Mostly abstract. Nova color is my primary paint. I also exclusively use their mediums and gesso. The binder consistency and pigment load is excellent… very consistent across colors. I’ve never found a clump or an uneven mix. Way way way way better than economy «studio» acrylic paint. Just as much pigment as say Golden or liquitex, and I actually prefer the more liquid consistency. The ultramarine makes me openly weep… gorgeous. The pyrrole is just as opaque as any real cadmium. I use the texture paste for crack filling in wood sculptures. Using their little squeezy tubes prevents wasting paint… Mix and use exact amount you need.
I paint big… so price vs quality Nova is by far the best paint I’ve come across. And you’re shopping local! Warms the soul.

Absolutely friendly, helpful, professional. I love coming here ! Damn I love this place!

I’ve been buying Nova Paint for about 20 years. I disagree with other posters that the paint viscosity or pigment load significantly differs from Liquitex and other paints available internationally. I can’t speak about Nova vs. Utrecht viscosity, haven’t used the latter brand in years but I have purchased other brands in the UK, in Moscow, and in Japan while living in these places. The Nova paint is normal professional-​grade stuff. I have to laugh at the Sergio review that complains that Nova increases their prices; if they never did they’d obviously go out of business; their paint is a bargain compared to others.
I live in a University of California building with about 150 of my 400 – 500 paintings on the walls, and big windows, and I find the Nova paints resist fading to light about the same as my oil paints. Over the years, seeing the impact of time, I’ve gradually abandoned pigments which aren’t light fast, and Nova’s great in that they provide good advice on which pigments in the light fastness category 1 are the most light-​resistant, which is important for murals and paintings that are going to get hit with direct sunlight every day, year after year.
I’ve never visited their location, even when living in Hermosa Beach in LA it was easier to call in orders and have them mailed to me rather than fight through the traffic. I order 1 – 2 times per year and nothing’s ever been damaged in shipment. I can’t say the same for a large San Francisco supplier who screwed up my orders.
So: good quality, cheap price, good customer service. We’d be dumb to pay normal art store prices when Nova paint is available, especially if you work in large scale where you’re going to go through pints of paint, it’s a waste of money to buy another paint brand.

their paints are so liquity… and the pigment load are weird. the tinting strength is even worse than liquitex basics…
BUT their mediums are on a great value
nova gel and nova plex are my must have, never find mediums cheaper than theirs

If you use acrylic paints, this place is a must!!! Their acrylics are not as thick as utrechts are, but their transparents and their fluorescents are beautiful. I also swear by their matte medium. Staff is always nice. My only gripe: i wish they had better hours (aka weekend)

Tall thin male employee with glasses was so rude today as one of his coworkers was trying to help me figure out which products I needed. He kept trying to cut him off and get him to leave and go out back as the guy was trying to help me, a customer who has been there before. Highly inappropriate towards both me and his coworker. That is not ok.

Boy if you know about this spot, you’re in the circle of trust, focker.
Gonzalo is the sweetest guy! Their prices pay true respect to the poor artist. They mix their stuff here and it’s like a candy store! I’ve picked so many colors. They also do canvas. It’s a small place in an industrial’esque setting. Ladies, come get whistled at by a construction dude in a neighboring building! LOL I will always come here for paint. Period.

Love Gonzales and his friendly way of guiding the artists, he is the best with color and teaching you how to mix color and find the right textures. I highly recommend him to my students.
I discovered some new blues and they are my favorite to work with in my color palette.
Also they have great prices and amazing products and the products are high quality.
I love the transparent colors and vibrant colors as well, I can’t say enough about this place. There is convenient parking next door and the staff is always friendly when I order. You can get your products shipped the next day…
Keep up the great work.

I LOVE Nova Color! The prices are great, the paints are high quality and the staff is very helpful. Gonzalo, who often works the counter, knows his stuff and will patiently answer all of your questions. No question is too stupid and I never feel rushed. I was especially impressed when I took a dried tube of paint over there and he helped me figure what colors I needed to mix in order to match what was in the tube.
I pretty much only shop here for all of my acrylic paints and mediums because the prices can’t be beat. It’s always an enjoyable outing to visit this little shop where all of the paints are made on site. It just all feels so personal.

my favorite acrylic paint. out of the jar its a thinner bodied paint but they have a ton of great mediums that will thicken it up. prices cant be beat and its as good if not better than golden.
from what i have heard the reason why they dont sell it in any other stores is because they want the artists to be able to get the paint as cheap as posible.

I’m currently elbow-​deep in this stuff, and I have to say, these colors are PRETTY. Such an expansive range, they really go for the shades and hues you usually have to mix up yourself, like this turquoise green shade that I’m currently obsessed with. They have some really beautiful tertiary colors, and their fuschia pink is really, really great. As are their ‘pearl’ colors.
Downside: I find that the pigmentation varies greatly from color to color Some of them I almost feel like I should be using straight form the jar which I hate, because having a collection of Utrech paints that will cover some serious area with a dab and being a student with other expensive habits… suffice it to say that I appreciate a thicker bodied/​pigmented acrylic.
However they pick up REALLY well in the Tintable Texture Paste – this is my new favorite thing. Also: the NOVA GEL says «Heavy Body» but what they mean is that it’s essentially a SOLID. I turned the Pint jar over and shook it and nothing moved. Amazing. It’s proved great as a paint medium, but I don’t quite have it down as a bonding agent yet, too milky. The older gentleman is soooooo nice. He took my tattered, messy list and collected my stuff before I could tear myself away from the color chart. Worth a try, decent value – be nice to the old guy!!!

Nova Color is amazing! Their colors are vibrant and their prices are crazy inexpensive! It is less expensive to mail order Nova product and pay for shipping than to get them locally! (Don’t forget to check out the crazy good deals on squeeze bottles too!)
On a recent trip to CA i visited the cute store front just for fun. The man working was friendly and helpful. I LOVE Nova color.

A small jar costs as much as a tube of paint at other stores. I don’t think they have student discounts either. I will probably never need the black light or neon lines but the colors here are better than most acrylics which dull when dry. Recommended by my painting instructors. This is less stinky than other brands also.

Driving down La Cienega, I make a right on Blackwelder (which is more like an alley than a street.) It’s a weekday, probably after 1pm. I park my car in one of three spots behind a small factory, and step out of my car after dusting the cigarette ash from my jeans. I stand in front of a gated door. After pressing the buzzer, an older man lets me in. Though it may sound like a typical visit to local a pawn broker, I’m actually in the best acrylic paint store in all of Los Angeles: NOVA COLOR ARTIST PAINT!
Nova Color is a small factory store; there are no frills or extras. They carry acrylic paint (produced on-​site), gel mediums, little jars for paint, and maybe a few brushes; all merchandise is displayed on industrial shelving in a room about the size of an office lunchroom.
The paint itself is amazing. The viscosity is unparalleled, though I’ve known one or two fellow painters complain about its lack of body. Whatever paint consistency is preferred, there is no denying the brilliant color. Nova paint is incredibly saturated with fine pigment, and there are many traditional and fun colors that would tickle almost anybody’s fancy (including neon, blacklight, pearl, and metallic paint.) The paint is also reasonably priced. A four once jar of Cadmium yellow is only $ 4.75.
After selecting many fine paints, the older gentleman totaled up my purchase with an adding machine and gave me a hand painted swatch card. With all it’s charm, fiscal benefits, and glorious paint there is a flaw: Nova paint’s hours of operation are only 8:30am to 5:00pm Monday through Friday. This works out for artsy slackers like myself, but back when i was a full-​time office slug, there was just no way to get a trip in.