Oil Paint
Oil paint is a slow-drying paint made with pigment and a drying oil binder. It is widely used for artwork because it blends smoothly and develops rich color.
Painter
Cy Twombly
Cy Twombly was an American painter known for gestural works that often combined oil-based house paint with crayon, pencil, and other drawing materials.
Related: Jackson Pollock · Molly Zuckerman-Hartung
Cy Twombly quick facts
Review key details about Cy Twombly's life, career, gestural painting, oil-based house paint, crayon, pencil, and the loose mark-making that shaped his practice.
| Born | 1928 |
|---|---|
| Died | 2011 |
| Nationality | American |
| Paint media | Oil-based house paint · Oil paint · Synthetic polymer paint |
| Drawing media | Crayon, pencil, colored pencil, and pastel |
| Common supports | Canvas and other traditional painting supports |
| Known for | Large fields of looping scrawls, erasures, handwritten marks, and classical references that blur painting and drawing |
Sources: Museum of Modern Art, MoMA: Untitled (1970), and MoMA: Academy.
Paint types used
See the paint types documented in Twombly's work, with links to PaintZeal references explaining each medium's properties, uses, and working characteristics.
Surface types used
See the surface types documented in Twombly's work, with links to PaintZeal references explaining how each support behaves and is prepared for painting.
Canvas
Canvas is a woven fabric used as a flexible support for painting. Artist canvas is commonly made from cotton or linen and sold either raw or coated with a ground layer.
Paper
Paper is an absorbent sheet material made from pressed fibers. Its weight, sizing, and surface texture determine how much moisture it can handle and how paint spreads.