Plein Air Seascapes


featuring Grenning Gallery Artists
James Daga Albinson , Marc Dalessio, Ben Fenske, Melissa Franklin Sanchez, Shea Keating, Paul Rafferty, Ramiro and Nelson H. White

In keeping with our mission, the Grenning Gallery hosted many of our globe-trotting artists this summer, and in this show we revel in each artists' personal responses to the beauty of the East End shores. On any given day (or night for that matter) there were several Grenning Gallery painters out there hard at work, striving to capture on canvas, the magnificence of our high season. Some painters saw the hot summer moon, others were fascinated by the water and waves, several focused on the dunes and cliffs, and in one case, the light of a beach bonfire is honestly recorded forever.


Shea Keating (b. 1983) exhibits several small local sketches of the harbor in all its glory. Most notable are "Sailboat, Shelter Island" 16 x 12 inches and "The Harbor" 8 x 12 inches, for their rhythm and color. Keating, having attended Pierson High School in Sag Harbor and The School of Visual Arts in NYC, lives in Sagaponack.




"The Harbor" by Shea Keating 8 x 12 inches, Oil, 2010



The exhibit will hang through October 17th.
http://www.grenninggallery.com Grenning Gallery|

An Interview with Shea Keating, Artist in Residence and The New Designer Everyone is Buzzing About!

Upcoming Exhibit:
Saturday, September 25th 6-8pm
The Grenning Gallery, 17 Washington Street in Sag Harbor.
Paintings by Shea Keating to be included in an Opening of Local Landscapes.

Q ~ MySagHarbor.com:

Okay! Before I even start this interview, I have to ask about the ties ~ your too shea neckties that were included in the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards gift bags! One of the ties was a Michael Jackson memorial design, right? Tell me, how did this idea of designing neckties come about and how did you get the coveted opportunity to be included in these infamous rock star gift bags? Did you receive a lot of response to your brand after that kind of publicity?

A ~ Shea Keating:

I am a huge fan of accessories of all kinds, especially daring, or unconventional ones. While living in Alphabet City (NYC) and attending the School of Visual Arts, I would frequent thrift stores. I was always finding nifty vintage neckwear ~ it was there that the idea to revamp, refresh and recycle neckties came to be. From my love of menswear and of course Annie Hall, then came my decision to market them as unisex ties. There is nothing more powerful than a woman in a tie.
As far as the VMA gift bags go, a top executive at Viacom is a big fan of too shea and often wears his own one of a kind too shea designs, Gun & Flower (Bullets for Flowers) tie on the Red Carpet. He reached out with the opportunity thinking that theses one of a kind designs would be a perfect fit for the VMA gift bags, which go to celebrity attendees, presenters, performers and other VIPs. The Michael Jackson designs were a new addition to the too shea catalog and obviously a nod to the late, great performer, whom I have admired and been inspired by. Luckily, they were ready just in time to be included in the gift bags. To note, a portion of the proceeds from my MJ designs are donated to the Heal the World Foundation in Michael’s honor and his is solo discography is printed on the reverse side of each tie. These limited edition designs are still available for sale on my website and as well at Etsy. On that note, I was beyond giddy to be included in the infamous gift bags and got some unbelievable, exciting responses!

Q ~ MySagHarbor.com:

Okay! Now that I got that out of my system, let’s back track a bit so people know where you came from. You went to Pierson, correct? And then went on to major in Art? Where? It is so hard to have the patience to start out as a “starving artist.” What advice can you give young, creative people on embracing their dreams?

A ~ Shea Keating:

I did attend Pierson High School and credit the art program there to the start of my career path in Fine Art and Design. As far as college is concerned, I sort of sampled a few of the great art schools on the East Coast. I did my first year at The Rhode Island School of Design then transferred to Parsons School of Design to study fashion, before finally settling in at the School of Visual Arts where I majored in Fine Art & Painting.

As far as advice for young artists, it is a quite an under taking to make the decision to commit yourself to producing art, but I find that if you keep yourself engaged, inspired, and constantly creating, the journey may be long and rocky, but it is definitely fulfilling. For me it helps to have both too shea where I can express myself through fashion, and then my painting career. It’s a good balance, when one gets stale I move to the next.

Q ~ MySagHarbor.com:

In taking a close look at your portfolio you remind me of another local artist, Billy Joel. Not a bad person to be compared to! Whereas his music is so diverse, your art is as well. You create very contemporary, almost controversial handbags, to beautiful modern jewelry, to the most tranquil of picturesque paintings. Your fine art designs are on display at the Grenning Gallery, 17 Washington Street in Sag Harbor. Can you tell us a little bit about the art you have on display there?

A ~ Shea Keating:

First off, I love Billy Joel! His songbook is one of my favorites. I agree that there is quite a jump between my designs and fine art work. Part of the diversity comes from having an eclectic taste, trying it all out, and then of course where I have studied and what I have experienced. The too shea designs have more of a contemporary feel. As far as calling them controversial…Well I’ll take it! I want them to have a sort of punch, but to also be poignant. The jewelry though is a totally new and a really fun thing that I will talk more about in a minute.

With regard to my fine art, I will say that there was a definite shift in my painting style after working at the Grenning Gallery, where I was the gallery manager for three and a half years. Being exposed to more classical traditional oil paintings, I became more interested in capturing nature from life. I have since left my position at the gallery to pursue painting and too shea full time. I have been fortunate enough to be included in a few of the exhibits there including one coming up this week. On September 25th the gallery will host an Opening of Local Landscapes from 6-8pm. A couple of my new landscapes will be there on display, including my painting plein air (outdoors from life). These works have been a challenge that keeps things interesting and new.

My paintings can be seen at: www.grenninggallery.com and also www.sheakeating.com which has some of my pre-Grenning paintings, which are much more contemporary.

Q: MySagHarbor.com:

I recently read that you love of anything “sparkly” (me too!) In your designs, what is your current love, or main focus, at this time?

A ~ Shea Keating:

Well, my newest endeavor is my line of too shea-mless jewelry, which is “sparkly” at its finest! The process of creating the jewelry is actually kind of neat. In designing each piece, each one actually comes together gradually. I just start piecing along until things they seem to fit. I never really know what the finished product is going to look like until it’s completed. The materials I use, combined with the time it takes to turn out a necklace, adds to the originality of the line. Swarovski crystals and rhinestones are used in all aspects of the jewelry along with vintage beads and a wide variety of cabochon (a gemstone which has been shaped and polished, as opposed to faceted.) These range from opaque pear-shaped accents to really kitschy stuff (i.e. a huge pink glittery poodle!) There are two different aesthetics that the line offers so I named the line too shea-mless. It is not just for the faint-hearted, because frankly some of the necklaces are flat out monstrosities! Huge, shiny and kind of humorous! And then, on the other side you have my too shea-mless Mini’s “Glamour for Your Everyday Endeavors.” This look is much more mellow, easily wearable, and appeal to a broader audience. The line at the moment only includes necklaces, although I am working on making earrings.

All of the jewelry, like my other designs are exclusive one of a kind originals. On an even more exciting note, I am also recently engaged and planning on designing my own too shea gown for the big day, as well as some headwear. Who knows, bridal gear may be in the future for too shea!

Q ~ MySagHarbor.com

Where can you find too shea designs and what type of audience do you think would be drawn to your lines?

A ~ Shea Keating:

The too sheam-less jewelry line can be found right here at Illusions in Sag Harbor (78 Main Street) and also at Smith (28 Nugget Street, Southampton). Smith features all one of a kind creations, including a few of my vintage clutches and pieces from the too shea clothing line. I am always on the hunt for additional retail opportunities throughout unique boutiques in NYC and on Long Island that would be a good fit for too shea. All of my merchandise can also be seen and purchased at my website: www.toosheadesigns.com and on my Etsy page: http://www.etsy.com/shop/tooshea.

I would like everyone to know that the mentality of too shea is universal, meant for people from all paths. It is built on originality and the company prides itself on freshness, optimism and the desire to spread both around. too shea relies on a catalog of hand drawn designs to speak for themselves, and although the presentation of these designs varies, all of the merchandise is always printed by hand, making each piece an individual. Everything is marketed as one of a kind, because all aspects of the creating are one of a kind. Whether it is drawing the design itself, or the printing of the garment (which is done by me on a printing table the old fashion way), or piecing a necklace together.

Overall, I find that my designs appeal to one who is bold and “young” at heart. They can be one of many generations, races, styles and walks of life. Appreciating too shea is not about age, but a state of mind. My main ambition in life is to stay creative, true to myself and somehow manage to make ends meet doing it. I feel blessed to be surrounded by good people, and my parents who are my very best friends. And, although I am an import, to Sag Harbor, not home grown like some of my comrades, Sag Harbor has slowly seeped into becoming my hometown too and there’s no place like it.

See the article here: Mysagharbor.com

We are pleased to invite you to our opening reception from 5 to 7pm on Saturday, December 5, 2009, featuring the latest works of our recently departed gallery manager, and brilliant gem, Ms. Shea Keating. The exhibit will hang through the New Year. Please note that the Grenning Gallery has relocated to 17 Washington Street, which is about 50 yards up the street from our old location.

Ms. Shea Keating steals the gems show with her new series of paintings, which hint at a great trajectory given her well received debut group show this past April. Having managed the Grenning Gallery for 3 ½ years, Keating is literally our home grown yet handpicked new artist. This show marks her first as a full time artist; as she has recently left the gallery to pursue her creative life full time.

Through her association with the gallery, Keating has been immersed in an atmosphere that encourages and celebrates the best painting techniques from current times back to the Old Masters. This exposure combined with her training at the more contemporary art schools in New York make her paintings both expressive yet refined. Keating’s use of color is decidedly 21st century. For example, Keating lays a recently deceased gold fish on a lavender cloth in “Freedom”, and four red fruits on a bright green ground in “Strawberries”. Her subtle eye for reflected light and ability to capture observations accurately is clearly demonstrated in her ongoing series of marbles; “I’ve lost my….” and “On Display” as well as in the fine interior, called “Empty Chairs”. “Mother in Nature”, “Sixteen”, and especially “Groovy”, the latter a small portrait of a modern-day female in a head band and sunglasses, show her promise as contemporary figurative painter.

We are also debuting a new artist from St. Louis, Travis Bailey who shares three beautifully drawn classical images. We have a new bedroom interior by Vincent Giarrano, and will be highlighting the well priced yet highly refined still lifes by Daniela Astone. The show will be balanced out with smaller works by our favorite gallery painters including; Ramiro, Franklin, Bauman, Dalessio, Fenske, White, and Rafferty.

Please contact Laura on the cell phone or at the gallery if you have any questions and look for the images on the updated web site http://www.grenninggallery.com Grenning Gallery|
Laura Cell: 631-767-5302.

Spring Break
At Grenning Gallery

The Grenning Gallery in Sag Harbor continues its tradition of presenting American Neo-Realism and Neo-Impressionism in a group show called “Spring Break,” which opens on Saturday with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m.

In addition to some of the gallery’s stable of artists, two, Colin Berry and Shea Keating, who is Grenning’s gallery manager, will make their debut in Sag Harbor.

Ms. Keating is a “locally grown talent,” according to Laura Grenning. She graduated from Pierson High School and went on to study at the School of Visual Arts in New York. “Through osmosis and direct tutelage,” Ms. Keating has merged modernist influences with classical techniques.

Mr. Berry, a realist painter inspired by Italian artists of the 15th century, has studied both historical and contemporary approaches to oil painting and color theory. The recipient of a Fulbright grant, the artist studied at the University of New Hampshire and the Yale University Summer School of art. His work has been exhibited in galleries throughout New England and the Midwest.

Others artists whose work will be on display are Stephen Bauman, Vincent Giarrano, Daniel Graves, Michael Kotasek, Chris Pugliese, Dave Peikon, and Patty Watwood.

The show can be seen through May 17.

East Hampton Star: Art Scene

April 30th, 2009
Sag Harbor Express
by Annette Hinkle



For regular visitors to the Grenning Gallery (90 Main Street, Sag Harbor) Shea Keating is a familiar face. As the gallery's manager, she spends her days showing paintings to clients, keeping track of accounts and making sure the business runs smoothly.

But from now through mid-May, Keating is taking on a new role at the Grenning Gallery, that of featured artist. More than a dozen of Keating's still lifes, portraits and landscape paintings now adorn the walls, alongside those of the gallery's regular artists, many of whom have studied at the prestigious Florence Academy in Italy.

"I'm inspired by the painters here," says Keating. "They are in my age range and supporting themselves by painting. I've had my own education, which brings a different dynamic. We'll see if the paintings work, and if people want to take them home."

This show represents a big step for Keating, a Pierson High School graduate with a degree in painting from the School of Visual Arts. Though Keating's educational influences were dominated primarily by contemporary and modern art, her painting style has always leaned toward representational work.

"I was never classically trained to do realism," says Keating, "but I've always worked from observation."

The Florence Academy is known for training painters in classic, old world style realism and since working at the Grenning Gallery, Keating notes her style has evolved thanks to the influence of painters she comes into contact with on a regular basis.

"I have a huge respect for the Florence Academy,"says Keating. "I don't know most of the methods, but I've gotten a little insight about it. I take it, try to learn about it and use my own technique."

While the ultra-realistic style of some of the gallery's artists is not one Keating can ever imagine mastering herself, she has met other painters who bring a more airy quality to their realism and this is the style of painting that Keating has come to understand and embrace in her own work.

"I've learned a lot from looking at the paintings," she says. "I'm automatically drawn to Ben Fenske's work because of his application, it's much looser. He has become a great friend of mine, when he's here we go painting together."

Fenske lives in Florence, but spends a number of months each year painting on the East End. He has encouraged Keating to branch out into new modes of working, such as painting on location.

"He's become this great buddy and he motivates me,"says Keating. "Landscape painting is a totally new thing for me. Your subject is constantly changing and the light is changing, it is really hard. You're also in the public, sort of exposed in a different way. It's neat, and definitely challenging."

Though she may work for the gallery, this show is by no means a gift on the part of gallery owner Laura Grenning. Though shea's been there nearly three years, Keating didn't even share her work with Grenning until recently and when she suggested a show, Keating stressed that she wanted it to be as a result of her own merit.

"I said, I hope this isn't a favor to me," recalls Keating. "If you saw these and didn't know whose they were and didn't want them, I don't want them on the wall."

But on the wall they are, and now Keating has one more task to add to her job, talking about her own art. Keating is not yet sure how she will react when customers start looking at her work with a critical eye.

"This is my beginning. It's a scary thing to hang your stuff up. It's a new dynamic for me here," she admits."Instead of being the person behind the desk and talking about other artists, I'm exposed. I'm not just like the other artists I am a face that has to be here with them."

"But one day, I want to be out from behind the desk and just on the wall," she adds."It's a step in the right direction."

See the article here

“Spring Break” Opening Reception on Saturday: April 25th,2009 6-8pm

We all need a “Spring Break”...

The snowy, cold and long winter reflects the frozen financial climate we have all been struggling under for many months. We need a break. We need a spring break! Please come to the Grenning Gallery on Saturday April 25th, from 6 to 8pm to celebrate the opening of our new show “Spring Break”. In addition to recent works by key gallery artists, we are especially excited to introduce two new artists to our roster: Colin Berry and Shea Keating (yes – that’s our gallery manager Shea Keating!). The show will hang until May 17th, 2009.

We are very excited to be the host of Shea Keating’s debut show. Keating, a locally grown talent, graduated from Pierson High School, and ultimately was a Dean’s List student and graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Through osmosis and direct tutelage, Keating has merged her modernist influences from contemporary education in New York City with the Grenning Gallery’s classical techniques. The result is a series of quiet yet rich still lifes, landscapes and figurative pieces. Notable amongst these is the head on portrait “Conor”, which is painted in a direct and expressive manner that also captures a great likeness of one of the artist’s peers. “Hawn” is a modern riff on the ancient idea of a still life of a dead fish. Keating’s recently deceased goldfish, laid out on a blue green field of color, creates a gem of a contemporary realist painting.

In this show we are also introducing an award winning realist, Colin Berry, with his highly finished sensual pictures of single objects. “Shell” and “Cup of Roses” are exquisite objects of beauty, as he sensitively observes and recreates the details of not just a rose, but that specific rose. His works are like a visual prayer to his subjects. In a rare nude "Primavera” shows his prowess in the figurative field.

Daniel Graves, the founder of the Florence Academy of Art, offers a series of Moroccan landscapes painted en plein air. Deep blue skies with white stucco walls make this series of work glow.


Stephen Bauman, entrances us with a few more self portraits, with “I heart NY” gracing the cover of our postcard this month. Another “Self Portrait with Palette” shows an abstractly painted, roughed in, yet accurate self portrait of a young painter in his studio.

Long Island’s own Dave Peikon will exhibit a balanced body of work, ranging from “Abandoned” 24 x 48 inches, which is a beautiful snow scene of an abandoned dory in a local marsh, to a very accurate and intense “Self Portrait”, 20 x 20 inches.

Michael Kotasek, the Wyeth like draftsman, treats the viewer to two new oil paintings, which is a new medium for him. “Clam Pot” shows an old fashioned enamel clam pot and some shells

We are pleased to report that we will be showing two new high key and crisp florals by Patty Watwood, “Chrysanthemums”, and “Dahlias”. Another talented figurative New York painter, Chris Pugliese will also contribute some of his recent florals to the exhibit. Vincent Giarrano, having sold well in his first two group shows, will contribute a wonderful new poetic interior “Sleeping In”.

Grenning Gallery