The Studio Gallery

Susie Bettenhausen has owned and worked out of The Studio Gallery for more than 25 years, running the business from the same cottage on Logan Lane in Grayton Beach that it has occupied since it opened. Bettenhausen is an artist herself, and her work hangs alongside pieces from other artists she represents, giving the space what regular visitors describe as a local, hands-on feel rather than the polished, corporate atmosphere of a typical resort-town gallery.

The roughly 1,400-square-foot gallery shows established, emerging, and award-winning fine artists from around the Southeast, with a collection that leans heavily on the 30A area’s own talent pool. Paintings dominate the inventory, in both acrylic and oil, ranging from abstract compositions to landscapes and coastal scenes built around palms, dune lakes, and beach views, and the gallery also carries shell art, jewelry, and smaller accessory pieces for visitors who want something more portable than a canvas. Prices on the gallery’s own site span a wide range, from around $65 for smaller pieces up to several thousand dollars for large-format paintings, which keeps the gallery accessible to casual browsers as well as serious collectors.

What distinguishes The Studio Gallery from a typical seasonal gift shop is its relationship with the artists it carries. The gallery emphasizes learning the stories behind the work and watching how each artist’s style develops over repeat visits, and it has built a following of collectors who return to the same cottage year after year, some of whom describe the stop as part of an annual pilgrimage to the coast. That kind of relationship, built over a quarter century in one location, is unusual for a gallery on a stretch of coastline where many storefronts turn over every few seasons.

The gallery keeps regular hours, open Monday through Saturday from 10 AM to 4 PM, which makes it an easy midday or afternoon stop for anyone exploring Grayton Beach on foot. It is closed Sundays, so visitors planning a weekend gallery walk should build that into the schedule. Its location on Logan Lane places it inside the small cluster of shops known locally as the Shops of Grayton, close to Ria Leigh Gallery in the same building complex, and a short walk from The Zoo Gallery on Hotz Avenue and Grayton General Store, so a single visit to the neighborhood can easily cover all of Grayton Beach’s gallery offerings along with a stop for supplies.

Visitors who want to follow the gallery’s current shows or new arrivals between trips can check its Instagram account, which the gallery uses to post previews of new collections and events. For anyone assembling art from a Florida beach trip that will mean something back home rather than a generic souvenir, a gallery that has spent 25 years building relationships with 30A-area artists is a steadier source than a one-off boutique, and Bettenhausen’s continued presence on-site gives visitors a chance to talk directly with the person who selected the collection. Call (850) 231-3331 ahead of a visit during peak season if a specific artist’s work is the goal, since gallery hours can shift around local events.