They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and make a variety of affects. Depending on the side of the sponge that one uses, at any specific time and place, the affect will be different.
A sea sponge can be used to paint the look of distant leaves, textures that resemble rust, and so much more.
Sea sponges can be used for more close up leaves and provide layers of varying shades of highlights. You can press them down onto wet paint for one look, and a different look if you press them onto paint that has already dried.
You can swipe them across the sky to help create wispy clouds. Or in front of waterfalls to resemble a spray and splash of water. Again, the look here will vary depending on whether you are swiping the sponge across wet or dry paint.
Just like the shapes of the sponges themselves, the creative options are endless.
For this design, I went for a tile look.
For any sea sponge that one paints with, I recommend that the sponge is first wet and squeezed out, to make the sponge more flexible, and also easier to rinse and or clean the paint out.
In between color changes is an opportune time to do a quick rinsing. At the end of a painting round, I will usually add a diluted laundry detergent. I save my almost empty laundry detergent bottles, add some water and shake it up. Then I have a quick and easy way to help clear the paint out.
However, as you can see from my sea sponges, pictured above, that all the paint doesn't necessarily always come out.
Anyway, the sea sponges are re-usable for numerous times. I still have all of my sea sponges from decades ago, however, all of any one sea sponge, may not still be present. As edges became worn and loose, it was more efficient to remove the dangling piece and just work with what was left.
I leave them out to air dry, and may drop them into a wide open container, so that they remain dry, in between uses.
One of my most recent recent ventures for using sea sponges, was using them on my Gel Press Plate. The look turned out awesome.
Speaking of the surface that one uses them on, will also affect how the look will turn out. For instance, paper is more absorbent than canvas. You can also make designs on wax paper or foil, which aren't so absorbent, and then make a press print from there. The opportunities are as endless as anyone's imagination.
Here is my tile print look printed on pet dishes in my CherylsArt store on Zazzle.
Hope you enjoyed learning about painting with sea sponges. Happy creating.
I have purchased a variety of brands of sea sponges over the years, and do not really have a brand to recommend. You can check out a variety of options on Amazon. I just recommend getting a variety of shapes that inspire you. Here's the link. Sea Sponges for Painting
Cheryl Paton
You can read my review of the Gel Press Plate here: https://www.reviewthisreviews.com/2025/06/gel-press-plate-review.html
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
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