For over a decade, Billy Kearins’ creative work and projects have flown under the Coast banner, a brand he created to promote artistic collaborations and projects. From graphic design, screen printing, photography and live music, the Coast brand has become one of the most recognized symbols of Key West’s rustic and nostalgic art scene.
But producing art for business, rather than expression, is something Kearins said has been weighing on him in recent years. In May, he produced a 42- by 16-foot urban-styled mural on the new Frederick Douglass Community Center, honoring many of the pioneers and legacies of Key West’s Bahama Village community.
Today, he shares a studio in Bahama Village with legendary artist John Martini. The property is a treasured relic in the heart of the neighborhood. While Kearins leans forward in his chair, behind him are pieces of art that will be featured at his “Outside the Lines” exhibit that’s opening at Jag Gallery on Oct. 4 and running through Oct. 27. As with all Jag exhibitions, it is a two-person show, shared with works by Joey Tepedino.
His art, Kearins said, is “ultimately a sum of all of my mistakes and revisions, my trials and errors. I like to see the process as a metaphor for a life well lived where one learns from mistakes and shapes a better future.”
On the eve of his opening, Kearins opened up to the Keys Weekly on art, family and the constant journey towards a life well lived.
Artist Billy Kearins’ latest exhibit, ‘In & Outside the Lines,’ opens Saturday, Oct. 4 at Jag Gallery, 1075 Duval St. from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The show opens the season for Jag and runs through Oct. 26.
Artist Billy Kearins’ latest exhibit, ‘In & Outside the Lines,’ opens Saturday, Oct. 4 at Jag Gallery, 1075 Duval St. from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The show opens the season for Jag and runs through Oct. 26.
What does this exhibit mean to you and how does it differ from other Coast projects? For more than a decade all of my creative work and artistic projects have flown under the Coast banner. And really, that had always been the goal of the brand. But I don’t think I have ever enjoyed calling myself a businessman and often have a hard time even telling people what the company does — or articulating what I actually do for work. And to be honest, that has always weighed on me. With that feeling kind of constantly in the back of my mind, over the past few years I started to feel the real need to experiment with creative work that was solely focused on expressing myself.
How would you describe your art (style, inspiration, purpose)? What types of pieces can we expect at Jag? I needed a way to paint that felt more free-flowing and allowed for experimentation throughout the process. Eventually I started to steer to more bold, geometric concepts, often inspired by the “New York School” of abstract expressionism in the mid-1900s, where the use of simple shapes and color combinations provided the building blocks of the narrative. Considering this migration, stylistically I would say that most of my new pieces border on abstract land and seascapes, but I’ve also been calling them dreamscapes quietly to myself.
What is the greatest compliment you could receive for your art and style? Clearly taste in art and style varies wildly from person to person, and I’m under no delusion that a lot of people look at my work and think, “man, I really love this” — even Rothko and Basquiat, and Hockney and Picasso have their haters. But it is always nice when I hear people look at my work and immediately try to envision it as something they would like to own. That’s when it goes beyond simply being a “pretty picture” on a wall and gets into a real appreciation for the work.
What’s next for you and Coast? Will we see more festivals, innovative designs, screenprint and apparel, or is this a migration to your evolving artistry? Coast still coasts along. I’m proud of what we’ve done as a company and like that Coast is still able to co-exist with my other, more personal creative endeavors. I have plans for a pretty cool Coast Is Clear Festival in 2026 with some relevant and exciting collaborations already in the works. New apparel designs come in waves. Sometimes it’s months in between new designs and then all of a sudden I’ll break out and feel inspired to make five or 10 all at once. I still really love the shop and the studio, so I’m looking forward to a busy season after the doldrums of fall.
So how does painting offer you the escape to express yourself beyond some of the artistic disciplines? Painting entered my life somewhat by chance, but clearly has served a purpose in that it allows me to express myself on a personal level. And that was something I had consistently felt was missing from much of my more design-and-goal-oriented creative efforts at Coast. Thankfully the decision was made for me when Letty and Chas from Jag Gallery contacted me after having seen some of my pieces, and asked me if I was interested in an October show at the gallery. And here we are today.
You have talked about your style being a living metaphor of trial and error (not constrained, no target, free to do and say what you want with honesty and truth around your vision). Can you tell us more on what that means to you? A finished piece ultimately is the sum total of all of my mistakes and revisions, my trials and errors. I like to see this process as a metaphor for a life well lived. Mistakes are opportunities to learn from missteps, and we should always be striving to be a better version of our former selves. Mistakes are important and often shape the future in a meaningful way, so rather than try to avoid, erase, or forget them, I think it’s worthwhile to embrace them as part of the process of evolving in a productive way. I could easily dive into the political analogies of this way of thinking, but best we stay on topic for now.
You mentioned your painting possibly redefines the business of Coast, in the sense that people can learn more from you as an artist than s a “business person.” Can you elaborate on that along with any points on how you function outside of social media for the most part? Can an artist also be a business person? There was a real tipping point and it sounds really simple and almost humorous when I think back on it. A few years ago, my son — who at the time was probably 14 — was applying to prep schools and he was filling out some basic information for his candidate profile. It asked about his family and under “father’s occupation” he just wrote “artist” because that was how he saw me. The business was secondary for him, but his dad was an artist. From that moment on I felt entirely more comfortable with the label. And to be honest, it’s a way easier thing to explain to people when they ask what I do for a living. I can say I’m an artist. The follow-up question then becomes more focused, “what kind of art do you make?” for which I can say, “Well, I work in a lot of different mediums and disciplines, but at the moment a lot of my time is spent on painting.”
You were listening to some cool music as you worked. What was it? What role does it play and how does it relate to the mood or focus of your approach? Ah, yes, that was Hermanos Gutierrez. They are a total vibe — an all-instrumental Latin folk-rock duo. I’ve seen them live a few times. The first time was from the main stage at Newport Folk Festival where I work every summer. I was really excited for the set, but also completely questioning if they could hold the attention of a massive outdoor crowd with such dreamy, cosmic sound that had absolutely no vocals. They completely pulled it off, though — best set of the weekend — and I’ve been a major fan ever since.
You share a studio with legendary artist John Martini. We talked about his influence on you. What can you share about him, the studio, the Bahama Village setting and what that means to you and your art? The last half-decade that I’ve worked with John has been really transformative and another big reason why I feel more comfortable and inspired as an artist today. We started working closely during the pandemic — he had no reason to stop producing work, and needed a hand with one of his upcoming exhibitions. I, on the other hand, just needed a reason to get back to creating. His place is just down the street from me, and is easily the most iconic studio on the island, so at the outset, when he asked if I was up for assisting, I was really just motivated to get to know him better as an artist and be able to work at the big blue warehouse on Emma Street.
Early on it became clear to me that we shared a lot of the same world views, politics and outlooks on art and music and just living. So beyond the work, it was just nice to hear stories of old Key West and then to start to understand how a guy who never went to art school ended up becoming a serious and acclaimed artist who has been able to live a full life because of everything he has made inside of this one amazing space in Bahama Village. Learning from, and even just listening to, John has really set me on a track to take my own artistic pursuits more seriously.
Have you found any treasures in the studio? There are faded Polaroid photos pinned to the walls, old exhibition posters and newspaper clippings, scraps of rusted metal next to brand-new steel plates ready to be painted — colors everywhere and 40-foot ceilings with exposed trusses and a few holes in the metal roofing that will leak in and roll down the sloped floors, puddling in the valley after a downpour. The building was once a black movie theater, and the floor was never leveled since those days. Anyways, you can really feel the history when you’re in there, and I think it makes for an incredibly inspiring setting. It makes it feel like you want to create the next great piece of art that will leave through the big green doors out front.Earlier you were talking about your son and your advice for him during this period of his life. Would you be willing to share some of that with readers? Of course. My son, Kristian, is 17 and goes to a private prep school outside of Boston. He and my daughter have a very close relationship and we talk about everything. When I was his age, my dad had just passed away, and I was sort of a lost soul with no real direction or anyone to guide me other than to kind of tell me to just take the straightforward path. I’m really encouraging him to think outside of the box. He’s grown up by my side, so naturally I would love for him to explore a creative field. He loves film and photography and has a real knack for taking pretty amazing street photography snapshots. Part of him, quite naturally though, wants to avoid the mistakes of his old man and pursue something a bit safer. It’s also that I think he wants to be his own man. I just want to be able to tell him that he should really follow a path that he loves in the hopes that it offers him a lifetime of opportunities aligned with his own values, rather than compromising for the sake of comfort and safety. I suppose it all stems from realizing decades after college that I should have done something different when I was his age. And maybe that’s just me being selfish.
