/00   Hi, I’m Brenden

What I love most is painting people.

I paint the moments people usually keep to themselves: the softness under the strength, the pause before someone lets you in.

Watercolor portrait of a young man with dark hair and purple paint splatter, by Brenden Sanborn
Expressive watercolor of a man with his face turned upward in pink, red and gold, by Brenden Sanborn
Loose watercolor portrait of a shirtless man with dark curly hair against a soft blue background, by Brenden Sanborn
Ink drawing of a man walking out of the sea on a vintage book page, with birds scattering around him, by Brenden Sanborn
Ink drawing of a bearded man whose hair dissolves into flying birds, on a vintage book page, by Brenden Sanborn
Male figure art of a man’s bare back in shadow against a warm peach background, by Brenden Sanborn
Ink drawing of a swimmer standing on a dock with an orange wash, swimmers in the distance, by Brenden Sanborn
Ink drawing of two men in a close embrace, collaged with vintage book page text, by Brenden Sanborn
Watercolor male figure painting of a man standing on the shore in blues and greens, by Brenden Sanborn
The Pond Holds Us, ink and acrylic ink drawing of two men swimming in a lily pond, 16 by 20 inches, by Brenden Sanborn
Ink portrait of a woman with orange flowers on a vintage book page, by Brenden Sanborn
Expressive ink line portrait of a man’s face wrapped in a flowing orange scarf, by Brenden Sanborn
Male figure art of a bearded man under a full moon with a forest and lake in blue and copper tones, by Brenden Sanborn
Male figure art of a bearded man whose back and shoulders are covered in green and orange leaves, by Brenden Sanborn
Male figure art of a man in red swim briefs looking down, in pink, red and aqua, by Brenden Sanborn
Close crop male figure art of a bearded man holding a single red poppy, by Brenden Sanborn
some of my favorites
Brenden Sanborn’s studio desk with a male figure watercolor in progress on a clipboard, brushes, paint jars and a watercolor palette by the window
Open sketchbook in Brenden Sanborn’s studio with two expressive ink figure drawings held flat by binder clips
Sketchbook spread by Brenden Sanborn with a portrait of a woman in sunglasses beside ink figures drawn over a vintage book page

/01   INSIDE THE STUDIO

Behind every finished piece, there's a table like this.

Real days in the studio, the parts nobody frames.

swipe for more

/02   The work

A select few, for now.

Forever Love, a painting of two hands linking little fingers on a teal background, from The Lovers collection by Brenden Sanborn

Forever Love

The Lovers

Watercolor painting by Brenden Sanborn of two men silhouetted against glowing red and gold light, alone together in a dark room

Alone at Last

The Lovers

Watercolor by Brenden Sanborn of a man bending forward, with the words Sea Whispers painted beside him

Sea Whispers

Page Boys

Painting by Brenden Sanborn of men running into the sea, seen from behind, in bold blues and gold

Peaches on the Beach

Peaches and Briefs

Watercolor painting by Brenden Sanborn of two men sitting side by side in the surf, seen from behind

One Last Summer Swim

The Lovers

Watercolor study by Brenden Sanborn of a male chest and torso in rose and violet against soft blue

Male Chest Study

Built

Watercolor painting by Brenden Sanborn of a man asleep face down on white sheets, in warm orange tones

Lovers Sleep

Peaches and Briefs

Watercolor portrait by Brenden Sanborn of a bearded man lost in thought among red poppies

Daydreamer

Beards in the Wild

Watercolor painting by Brenden Sanborn of a man lying in a clawfoot tub, seen from above

Bathing

Peaches and Briefs

Loose watercolor by Brenden Sanborn of a man asleep on white sheets in soft pink and violet

Soft Hours

Peaches and Briefs

Painting by Brenden Sanborn of two men sitting close on the sand at Fire Island, a crowded beach and a red umbrella behind them

Boys on Beach Fire Island

The Lovers

Watercolor painting by Brenden Sanborn of two men kissing in a bathtub, warm light on their shoulders

Bathtime

The Lovers

Painting by Brenden Sanborn of a male figure seen from behind in loose white paint on a black background

Salt and Ash

Inked & Expressive

Watercolor painting by Brenden Sanborn of a male figure in soft pink and indigo washes, his face half in shadow

Rain Keeping

Monochrome Watercolor

Painting by Brenden Sanborn of a man in deep blue looking back over his shoulder, a gold sun behind him and gold birds in flight around him

Birds Around the Sun

Shadows

Love at the Festival, a watercolor of two men holding hands, one with a finger in the other's back pocket, from The Lovers collection by Brenden Sanborn

Love at the Festival

The Lovers

Sunday Morning, a golden watercolor of a male figure seen from behind, from the Peaches and Briefs collection by Brenden Sanborn

Sunday Morning

Peaches and Briefs

Rootline, a painting of a man's back with leaves along his spine, from the Wildflowers collection by Brenden Sanborn

Rootline

Wildflowers

Open Sky, a watercolor of a male figure in green and teal with dripping paint, from the Drip collection by Brenden Sanborn

Open Sky

Drip

Unwritten Chapter, an ink drawing of a male figure on an aged book page, from the Page Boys collection by Brenden Sanborn

Unwritten Chapter

Page Boys

Slow Walk Home, a watercolor of two men standing arm in arm, seen from behind, from The Lovers collection by Brenden Sanborn

Slow Walk Home

The Lovers

Open to It, a watercolor of a man with his head tilted back against deep blue brushstrokes, from the Drip collection by Brenden Sanborn

Open to It

Drip

/03   On film

The Quiet Between Moments

A film by Matteo Trisolini of Space Untitled Gallery, where I’m a represented artist. I talk about growing up, my years as an artist, and why I keep coming back to the figure.

“Sometimes the quietest moments are the most powerful.”

this was fun to make

Brenden Sanborn floating in a pool in a white shirt, a still from the short film Unspoken by Matteo Trisolini

/04   Exhibitions

Career highlights

2003, it all started in a nightclub

Brenden Sanborn at his first solo show in 2003, standing in front of his large expressive figure paintings on a red wall

2003

MaineStreet

Ogunquit, Maine

My first solo show was in a nightclub, not a gallery. I approached the venue myself and hung every piece. It was the first time a whole room was filled with my work.

Brenden Sanborn watercolor of two men about to kiss, in progress on his desk, painted for his 2008 show at Continuum Gallery in Palm Springs

2008

Continuum Gallery

Palm Springs, California

A group show at Continuum Gallery in Palm Springs.

An installation artist assembling Box City, Rahul Mitra's collaborative installation of painted boxes, at Piece Work, the 2013 Portland Museum of Art Biennial, with Brenden Sanborn's signed box at lower right

2013

Piece Work

Portland Museum of Art Biennial

Chosen to contribute to Box City, Rahul Mitra’s outdoor installation at the museum biennial, the same year as my solo show Water and Light at Romaine Brooks Gallery in Albany.

Brenden Sanborn painting a live watercolor on book pages with a model at Nina Torres Gallery during Art Basel Miami, 2015

2015

La Santa Cuba

Nina Torres Gallery, Art Basel Miami

I painted live at Art Basel Miami with Nina Torres Gallery, my first year in South Florida.

Framed watercolor portraits of bearded men by Brenden Sanborn, The Modern Male, Bowersock Gallery, Provincetown, 2019

2019

The Modern Male

Bowersock Gallery, Provincetown

The first of two shows with Bowersock Gallery in Provincetown.

Framed watercolor of a male figure seen from behind, painted on a book page by Brenden Sanborn

2021

Pray Away

Netflix

My paintings appear in Pray Away, a documentary on Netflix.

Opening night crowd at Unspoken, Space Untitled, Wilton Manors, 2026

2026

Unspoken

Space Untitled, Wilton Manors, Florida

My solo show at Space Untitled. Matteo Trisolini made a short film for it.

Brenden Sanborn standing beside his large painting of two hands holding
Brenden Sanborn sitting on the studio floor in front of a large watercolor portrait of a bearded man

/05   About

A small town in New Hampshire, and one long summer.

I grew up in Exeter, New Hampshire, and studied at SCAD. My first paid work came one summer when a neighbor asked me to paint little wooden ovals for the pieces she made. I spent the whole summer at her kitchen table painting them.

Twenty five years later I’m still at it, in a studio in South Florida, with work in private collections across the United States and around the world. I don’t take a single one of them for granted.

Letters from the studio

New paintings before anyone else sees them, and the stories behind them. Only when there’s something worth sharing.

Letters from the studio

no spam, promise

/06   Press

Mentions and collaborations

Grateful for every one of these

Space Untitled Gallery logo
Netflix
Bravo
BBC
Art Basel Miami Beach
Portland Museum of Art
Space Untitled Gallery logo
Netflix
Bravo
BBC
Art Basel Miami Beach
Portland Museum of Art
Space Untitled Gallery logo
Netflix
Bravo
BBC
Art Basel Miami Beach
Portland Museum of Art
Space Untitled Gallery logo
Netflix
Bravo
BBC
Art Basel Miami Beach
Portland Museum of Art

Grateful for every one of these