Nova Color Artists Acrylic Paint
Encyclopedia
Nova Color Artists Acrylic Paint was first manufactured in Culver City, California in 1965 shortly after the commercial introduction of acrylic
polymer
resin for paint
production. Mexican immigrant Carlos Amparan developed a line of brilliantly colored fine art acrylic paint after experimenting with this relatively new water-borne emulsion
. He and his bother Raoul began small-scale production of Nova Color and sold it at a low price to local artists.
Inexpensive and readily available, Nova Color helped fuel the explosion of the Southern California Mural Arts and Chicano
Mural Arts movement in the late 1960s, 1970’s and 1980’s. Powerful artwork was made on a large scale. Cities began mural painting programs such as the Los Angeles Citywide Mural Project to promote community development and renewal.
Although originally designed as an artists’ easel paint, Nova Color proved to be a remarkably long lasting architectural paint for outdoor murals and decorative finishes. Nova Color developed a loyal following among artists who loved the strong colors that were affordable.
Early Southern California murals include Pope of Broadway (Anthony Quinn), 1973, by Eloy Torrez; John Muir Woods, John Muir School, 1978, by Jane Golden
; Death of a Farmworker, Chicano Park
, 1979, by Michael Schnorr and Susan Yamagata; El Nuevo Fuego on the Victor Clothing Company building, 1985, by East Los Streetscapers
; Labor in San Diego, Centro Cultural de la Raza
, 1985, September 19th by Victor Ochoa; the original painting of the Great Wall of Los Angeles
, 1976-1983.
Nova Color Artists Acrylic Paint has continued advancement in paint technology and is used internationally for murals and fine art painting. Still located on Blackwelder Street in Culver City, CA, the neighborhood is now the Culver City Arts District where contemporary art galleries line nearby Washington and La Cienega Boulevards.
Acrylic paint
Acrylic paint is fast drying paint containing pigment suspension in acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylic paints can be diluted with water, but become water-resistant when dry...
polymer
Polymer
A polymer is a large molecule composed of repeating structural units. These subunits are typically connected by covalent chemical bonds...
resin for paint
Paint
Paint is any liquid, liquefiable, or mastic composition which after application to a substrate in a thin layer is converted to an opaque solid film. One may also consider the digital mimicry thereof...
production. Mexican immigrant Carlos Amparan developed a line of brilliantly colored fine art acrylic paint after experimenting with this relatively new water-borne emulsion
Emulsion
An emulsion is a mixture of two or more liquids that are normally immiscible . Emulsions are part of a more general class of two-phase systems of matter called colloids. Although the terms colloid and emulsion are sometimes used interchangeably, emulsion is used when both the dispersed and the...
. He and his bother Raoul began small-scale production of Nova Color and sold it at a low price to local artists.
Inexpensive and readily available, Nova Color helped fuel the explosion of the Southern California Mural Arts and Chicano
Chicano
The terms "Chicano" and "Chicana" are used in reference to U.S. citizens of Mexican descent. However, those terms have a wide range of meanings in various parts of the world. The term began to be widely used during the Chicano Movement, mainly among Mexican Americans, especially in the movement's...
Mural Arts movement in the late 1960s, 1970’s and 1980’s. Powerful artwork was made on a large scale. Cities began mural painting programs such as the Los Angeles Citywide Mural Project to promote community development and renewal.
Although originally designed as an artists’ easel paint, Nova Color proved to be a remarkably long lasting architectural paint for outdoor murals and decorative finishes. Nova Color developed a loyal following among artists who loved the strong colors that were affordable.
Early Southern California murals include Pope of Broadway (Anthony Quinn), 1973, by Eloy Torrez; John Muir Woods, John Muir School, 1978, by Jane Golden
Jane Golden
Jane Golden founded the Mural Arts Program in Philadelphia, PA in the early 1990s as the Philadelphia Anti-Graffiti Network. She was also active in the mural renaissance in Los Angeles, CA in the 1980s.-References:******...
; Death of a Farmworker, Chicano Park
Chicano Park
Chicano Park is a 32,000 square meter park located beneath the San Diego-Coronado Bridge in Barrio Logan, a predominantly Mexican American and Mexican-immigrant community in central San Diego, California...
, 1979, by Michael Schnorr and Susan Yamagata; El Nuevo Fuego on the Victor Clothing Company building, 1985, by East Los Streetscapers
East Los Streetscapers
East Los Streetscapers Public Art Studios is a muralist art collective and fine art studio based in East Los Angeles, California. Its members have executed over twenty murals and large-scale public artworks, primarily in the Los Angeles area.-History:...
; Labor in San Diego, Centro Cultural de la Raza
Centro Cultural de la Raza
The Centro Cultural de la Raza is a non-profit organization with the specific mission to create, preserve, promote and educate about Chicano, Mexicano, Indigenous and Latino art and culture...
, 1985, September 19th by Victor Ochoa; the original painting of the Great Wall of Los Angeles
Great Wall of Los Angeles
The Great Wall of Los Angeles is a mural designed by Judith Baca and executed by community youth and artists coordinated by the Social and Public Art Resource Center...
, 1976-1983.
Nova Color Artists Acrylic Paint has continued advancement in paint technology and is used internationally for murals and fine art painting. Still located on Blackwelder Street in Culver City, CA, the neighborhood is now the Culver City Arts District where contemporary art galleries line nearby Washington and La Cienega Boulevards.
See also
- Acrylic paintAcrylic paintAcrylic paint is fast drying paint containing pigment suspension in acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylic paints can be diluted with water, but become water-resistant when dry...
- Faux PaintingFaux paintingFaux painting or faux finishing are terms used to describe a wide range of decorative painting techniques. The naming comes from the French word faux, meaning false, as these techniques started as a form of replicating materials such as marble and wood with paint, but has subsequently come to...
- Murals
- Philadelphia Anti-Graffiti NetworkPhiladelphia Anti-Graffiti NetworkThe Philadelphia Anti-Graffiti Network was founded in January 1984 by former Philadelphia Mayor Wilson Goode. The original goal of the program was to combat the spread of graffiti in the Philadelphia area and was led by Tim Spencer. In 1986 another program began within PAGN, named The Mural Arts...
- Trompe L'oeilTrompe l'oeilTrompe-l'œil, which can also be spelled without the hyphen in English as trompe l'oeil, is an art technique involving extremely realistic imagery in order to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects appear in three dimensions.-History in painting:Although the phrase has its origin in...