Journal

Straight from the studio.

Sketchbook pages, shows, the honest business side of making a living from art, and whatever else is on my mind.

Brenden Sanborn's 5 by 7 ink drawing of two men on the beach in a white marble frame

Show news

Inside The Collector’s Secret

How one little 5 by 7 painting taped to my studio wall ended up in a group show at Space Untitled, and what opening night felt like.

October 15, 2026

· 4 min read

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Art and Fear open on Brenden Sanborn's studio table, with his watercolor sketchbook and brushes behind it

On my mind

Art & Fear: The Book Every Artist Should Keep Within Reach

The worn out little book a friend put in my hands when I was stuck, and why I think every artist should own a copy of Art & Fear.

October 14, 2026

· 5 min read

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Brenden Sanborn painting an indigo watercolor portrait of a man, brush on the face, pencil sketch of the shoulders below

Sketchbook

How to Paint a Monochromatic Portrait: A Step by Step Guide

How I paint a one color watercolor portrait in indigo, step by step, from the first pencil lines to the final shadows.

June 7, 2024

· 5 min read

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Brenden Sanborn's custom ink portrait on a book page with paint markers and coffee on his studio table

Sketchbook

Custom Ink Portraits on Book Pages

Small portraits in ink and gouache, painted on real pages from old books, made from your own photo.

January 31, 2024

· 3 min read

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A Brenden Sanborn digital painting of a male figure on an iPad, with his watercolor studies beside it

On my mind

Traditional Roots, Digital Branches: My Experience with Procreate

How a watercolor painter who hardly uses anything digital ended up painting on an iPad, and what it taught me about my real brushes.

July 14, 2023

· 4 min read

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Five Tuesday ink sketches of male figures by Brenden Sanborn laid out beside his watercolor palette and ink

Sketchbook

Coffee and Sketch Tuesdays

Why I started giving one morning a week to coffee, ink and a single sketch, and what slowing down did for my work.

April 20, 2023

· 3 min read

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Two watercolor paintings by Brenden Sanborn, Sensual Touch and Thinker, both seen in the Netflix documentary Pray Away

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My Work in the Netflix Film Pray Away

Two of my paintings appear in Pray Away, the Netflix documentary about the conversion therapy movement. Here is how that happened.

August 13, 2021

· 3 min read

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