Sponge technique

Brushes and steel pens were the classic tools until the early 2000s for adding the intended motifs to the painting surfaces made of handmade paper, wood fiber board or stretcher frames covered with linen.

Airbrushing would have been an option, but various factors drew me to natural sponge. Over time, in addition to the hundreds of brushes, there was also a considerable collection of all kinds of natural sponges. This in turn, as with the higher quality hair and bristle brushes, was also a costly investment, as these natural sponges are already very threatened in their natural habitats around the world.

Working with different sponges, from the very fine-pored to the massive, large-pored with a very coarse structure, had various advantages over the airbrush. First of all, it is possible to create smooth transitions with the fine-pored cosmetic sponges, just like with an airbrush system. And yet with the coarse-pored ones you can create wonderfully expressive structures that are more than just decorative.

The so-called sponge phase lasted a few years and was then replaced by the spatula technique, which also enabled very intuitive and pleasantly meditative work.