Visual

Popped in for some ink pens while on vacation - great place!! Great owner. Art supplies and local art. Been there a long time - support small businesses!!

The owner is super chill, and the prices are reasonable especially for a place downtown. Definitely worth checking out and buying from!

We love our local art shop!! Owner is always so kind and often gives a smile/wave when you walk by, regardless of whether you’re coming in to buy anything. I love stopping by to check out the rotating gallery and pickup some fun pens/markers. I’m fully convinced the poor reviews on this page were weird one-off situations bc we’ve had nothing but great interactions with this business. Supporting small biz in this day and age is far more important to me than having to wait a few extra minutes for the owner to open shop (which we’ve never experienced in about a dozen visits, by the way - just addressing others’ complaints).

This shop is great! They had all the colors I needed and a couple different caps. Decent selection of fat tipped markers. The guy running the shop was super friendly. 10/10 would recommend

My muralist husband and I have been frequenting Visual for quite a while now, and always find their selection to be excellent. Jason is knowledgeable, friendly, a family man, and always makes us feel like we are visiting an old friend and not a business. Yes, the prices are high, but any experienced artist will understand that quality traditional art supplies come at a premium, and you will not find any cheap supplies at Visual. The adjoining gallery is bright and welcoming, and features a rotating selection of lowbrow art for sale at reasonable prices for interested collectors. Free stickers and buttons are also generally offered. Overall, highly recommended.

At first it seems like a nice vibe, You go inside and it's a little sparse, clean, if a bit pricey. it's an independent spot. You pick out something, Bring it to the front where the owner is, He doesn't stop what he's doing at all to say hello in any kind of meaningful way.. You ask A few questions, The energy is flat, you remain polite. . You're getting the impression this guy likely isn't going to be personable at all. Can't buy the item with my card cus it's under 5$. (Absolutely fair, but where's the signage please?) Tone that answer was delivered in tho? In general, it just makes you feel unwelcome. Not worth the effort for that 3 extra bucks. At least be engaging with your customers if you want them to come back. Ask them if its their first time in? Be like. *somewhat* outgoing. I really don't think distracting yourself for a hundred and twenty seconds from whatever unpressing task you had in front of you to invest in the possibility of having a loyal repeat customer was worth the 120 seconds fidgeting with whatever on the desk. Won't be coming back for anything dude.. Gotta at least acknowledge people or be a little more present on that human level. Folks. Gooooo elsewhere.

The Owner, Jason Gould, is a true artist with great vision. The shop is unique and not only has interesting and beautiful art work but practical supplies for artists of all types and media!

Great shop. Always has what I need If not they have plenty of other paints to choose from.

The people whom work there are kinda hipsters , nothing wrong with that but you don't need an attitude. The selection were not on par with much smaller stores that haven't been around as long and as boasted . And just because you've had a few decent events that some cool writers have painted in the side of your business. I b just wasn't impressed, and can def go elsewhere if the 2nd question I ask you make it seem like I ruined your whole damn day. Only reason I didn't 1 star because at the time I knew nowhere else but the internet to get paint. Would be surprised if this place is still around in a year or 2.

Limited selection and overpriced. Owner is very immature and judges people by the way they look. He's like the off kid in school who tries to pretend he's cool now, now that his parents paid for this store for him. He's a poser and his art is junk, no talent. I think his products are old because the paint did not perform well.

owner is super cool friendly guy. its been a while since i've stopped by but i used to come in and pick up a bunch of paint all the time. love this spot

They have a good selection of graffiti supplies, I picked up a couple of cans and a pair of gloves the nice worker also gave me a free tote bag with my order, I will be visiting this store again.

Very nice i got treated like the way i treated them they were so nice i would reccomend if you are into art

The main guy was rushing me and said he had a wide variety of markers but when I got there I didn't see much..I also felt rushed because he asked me like 3 times what I was looking for and I could tell he wanted to go home.

Array of color and materials for everyday art. Paints, pens, markers, canvas. Most mediums available. Art on display is also for sale.

Super great place. Owner is a very friendly guy, if you're a graffiti artist this spot has everything for you. There's also a nice selection of other art supplies

This is a graffiti artist's dream! If I was one, I'd be in heaven!!! A student of mine was working on some signs for our production set of RENT (the high school version). He was told this place had "caps"...like I knew what that meant...lol! I drove him over and this place is pretty cool! There was some local artwork on the walls, but what I really liked was the array of colors that were there. I had never heard of the brands because, you know, I would only go to Home Depot to buy spray paint. Granted, the products are a little on the pricey side, but then again, if you're an artist, you should only get the best! Again, some of the colors were really vibrant, as you can see from the photos. I believe the owner was there, nice guy. Definitely check them out!

10/10 shop! They got it all, great stock, the prices are fair and awesome customer service! The shop the super clean, organized and inspiring! I highly recommend stopping by! Jason goes above and beyond to make sure you found what your looking for.

My muralist husband and I have been frequenting Visual for quite a while now, and always find their selection to be excellent. Jason is knowledgeable, friendly, a family man, and always makes us feel like we are visiting an old friend and not a business. Yes, the prices are high, but any experienced artist will understand that quality traditional art supplies come at a premium, and you will not find any cheap supplies at Visual. The adjoining gallery is bright and welcoming, and features a rotating selection of lowbrow art for sale at reasonable prices for interested collectors. Free stickers and buttons are also generally offered. Overall, highly recommended.

My go to spot for anything spray and art materials related. The owner Jason is super friendly and knowledgeable and always answers my questions. The gallery attached to the store is also super rad!!!

Great North Park vibe; wonderful selection of spray paint. Happy with purchases and I'm looking forward to becoming a regular just for the 94 brand spray paint.

Asked if i could buy a paint marker that was behind glass and the owner proceeded to be a jerk and asked why when i could see through the glass then started talking to his buddy ignoring my request for assistance. Just go to Blick.

Cool shop other than the guy working at the counter with a nasty a** attitude and had the dirtiest look on his face the whole time. Don't work a register if you don't know customer service go to blicks instead were people actually want your business and acknowledge you when you walk in (the shop was empty wasn't like you were busy?)

I've been to this store several times. Every time I go to visual I receive the same terrible service. Sadly this is one of the few art stores left in san diego that stocks high quality paint. I'm not asking for much. But If I come into your store at least acknowledge that I'm in the store. Even if you're busy just say "hey I'll be with you in a few minutes.". However the guy in charge ignored me and walked into the back. After a few minutes he comes back and I ask a question. He gives me a one word response and walks away from me. I wish I could say this was isolated incident but any time I go to visual this happens. But what can you do.

Probably one of the best local art shops for a lot of reasons. The shop started by Jason Gould is a community business that is dedicated to not only providing quality art products but resources like linkage to opportunities in the community. They have great local artists show their work and other cool events. Jason or any other employee will be willing to suggest or sell you exactly what you need for your art projects. They are located in popular north park which makes parking a bit difficult depending on what time of day you go. The store is small but has spray paint, tips, markers, refills and more. Please keep them in mind when buying supplies and trying to keep good local businesses alive. Big thanks to Jason and Visual for all they do for the community!

Very clean and organized shop. Great variety of supplies. Visited the shop yesterday and was greeted by who I presume was the owner. He was able to help me with exactly what I needed and even gave me a bulk discount on my purchase! I highly recommend the shop for anyone in need of art supplies, esp. Graffiti related!! I will definitely be visiting often!

If you love any and all things art, this place is for you! They have an awesome selection of supplies, and the service here is great. They also hold art shows and take submissions so if you draw, paint, take photos, etc, you can submit your work to Jason! It just feels nice to be in the store, so stop by if you get the chance!

This place is smaller but they had exactly what I was looking for. The gallery was really beautiful and everyone was very nice and welcoming! They only had two brands of paint but I liked that they were pretty affordable, as well as a wide array of colors. If you're looking for spray paint supplies however, look no further. They were extremely well stocked with that kind of merchandise. While that's not my cup of tea, they still had what I needed. Standard paint brushes are also sold here and the quality is really nice. Will be visiting again!

I had come here to see what the store had and some advise. They were very helpful and if I need anything it's good to know they are down the street.

This is a very unique spot! A small mom and pops boutique style urban art supply! Although the space is limited, they've got the inventory that matters! they simply don't have the space to house every brand/style/color..... But They make sure they have the stuff you want and can't seem to find at the more generic supply stores! Stuff like Montana speed and Montana Mega's ..... Jason is knowledgable and helpful and they have the best prices on cans in San Diego county hands down!!!!!! Thanks visual! You guys rock!

Dude has paint at a better price than michaels and blick and is actually heavily involved in the art community around him.. Not just there to make a buck and bail, like the corporate places.. People think it's easy to run your own business and please everyone but these corporate places have specialist they hire to know you and treat you exactly how you'd want while getting all your money at the same time...I'd rather support independent local business than have a 90 year old person in a blue vest greet me at The door.. SUPPORT LOCAL INDEPENDENT BUSINESS !

This is by far the best urban street art supply shop I've found. Jason is knowledgeable and a great resource. Products are high quality and fair priced.

This is a cool shop! They have awesome art on the walls and there is a great selection of spray paint, markers, and other art supplies. Also, I bought a really cool book about the art of sign painting for my friend for Christmas. There's also T shirts and hats. Love it! The dude that wrote the first review is much more interested in the owner personally than the shop itself. My experience was totally pleasant.

Great store, Always doing really good things in the Art community and lots of fun art shows.

I bought a set of colored pencils but was not happy with the pigment; they just weren't great quality. I went back and asked if I could exchange them for a few markers instead, and the guy said, "Hell yeah!" He was super nice and more than happy to do whatever necessary to make me a satisfied customer. I totally value that kind of top notch customer service. Thank you!

ok store. hours are shady (been there twice days they were to be open to see a closed sign and a dark store) prices are average. it would be nice if they offered a coupon once in a while since theres little to no discount, something to encourage regulars from going to Blick where theres 40% off coupons once a month