When Walt and Karen Worthy were resuscitating Spokanes most upscale hotel, sculptor and arts advocate Vincent De Felice approached them with an idea. Why not build into the Davenport Hotel an exquisite art gallery as an amenity for guests and an attraction for local residents?


The Worthys liked the idea, and, to the surprise of De Felice, they suggested he own and operate it. The 35-year-old artist with no business background was an unlikely candidate to become an entrepreneur, but if it meant he could expose more people to the beautiful work of some top-notch Northwest artists, hed become one.


He opened Galleria De Felice, a full-service, fine art gallery and consultancy, in August 2002 in a 600-square-foot space near the north entrance of the historic hotel, which had reopened its doors about a month earlier.


I was born and raised here, so I always heard people downplaying Spokane, saying it needs more culture, De Felice says. He adds, I cant rewrite a big paragraph on Spokane, like the Worthys, or the Wells, or Rob Brewster can, but I can add a punctuation mark, referring to his landlords and other developers here who have revived parts of the citys core in recent years.


Galleria De Felice has evolved into a complement to the Davenport, and it makes 95 percent of its sales to hotel guests, De Felice says. Of course, it isnt exactly a hotel gift shop; the price tags on some of the original art it displays go as high as $30,000.


De Felice says he still thinks more like an artist than a businessman, though. For example, when De Felices family and the hotel suggested early on that he sell knickknack items, such as magnets and postcards, to help bolster profits, the artist refused.


I dont want to cross that line, he says, crinkling his nose. Im here to serve the art. Thats more in me than the financial stuff.


De Felice is anything but a haughty art snob, though. On a recent Monday, wearing jeans and a lightweight sweater, he casually greeted customers in the bright, airy gallery. He says he enjoys spending his days in the beautiful Davenport, and especially likes the company of the hotels bellhops.


In May, De Felice opened a gallery, called Gallery at Joel, on the second floor of Joel, a furniture and housewares store downtown at 165 S. Post. He says he has approached Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities Co., of Spokane, about opening a third gallery in a building it owns at the northeast corner of First Avenue and Monroe Street. Boise-based Bravo Entertainment LLP plans to open a restaurant and concert venue there this winter called the Big Easy Concert House.


De Felice doesnt know yet if Metropolitan Mortgage is interested in his idea for yet another gallery, but says if that project comes to fruition, it would feature colorful, progressive art done by New York City, Seattle, Los Angeles, and other nationally based artists.


Also, he says he would like to open galleries in Coeur dAlene, Sandpoint, and possibly in Seattle over time.


Sound like lofty goals for an accidental gallery owner? If landlords would agree to charge him for space based on a percentage of his monthly sales, as the Worthys do, the galleries can be viable, De Felice says. Plus, galleries often lure customers to an areas other businesses, helping them to flourish, he contends.


De Felice thinks his art-first approach to gallery ownership will benefit his relationships with artists.


Galleria de Felice mostly displays the work of Northwest-based artists. Those artists include Kathleen Hooks, of Pasco, Wash., whose paintings sell for between $500 and $2,100; Ashley Craigen, of Spokane, whose ceramic pieces sell for between $100 and $200; and Melville Holmes, also of Spokane, whose detailed paintings sell for between $4,000 and $9,000.


Holmes is one of only a handful of artists left in the world who studied how the old masters painted and is keeping alive the techniques used in the 15th and 16th centuries, De Felice says. He grinds his own pigments and makes his own varnishes.


The gallerys most expensive items are impressionistic paintings done by Ovanes Berberian, an Idaho-based artist. Many of his pieces, which incorporate bold brush strokes and strong colors, sell for $20,000 to $30,000, De Felice says.


At those prices, De Felice sells one of Berberians larger pieces about every three months, De Felice says. The high-end focus of his gallery in the Davenport was an intentional move to raise the bar, he says.


I was tired of going into galleries and seeing the same prints over and over, De Felice says. I wanted to stick with high-caliber, original art that wasnt trendy or fashionable.


Galleria De Felice also displays rings, necklaces, and other jewelry pieces of Spokane-based artist Naim Tunca, who emigrated here from Turkey about 30 years ago. Tunca, a fifth-generation jeweler, gets $600 to $6,000 for his original pieces, which De Felice says the gallery treats as sculptures.


While some art galleries rotate the art they exhibit, De Felice doesnt have to.


Our clientele is rotating on a daily basis, he says. The art remains until its sold.


One potential customer recently rotated through Galleria De Felice rather quickly. Wearing gym shorts and a T-shirt, the middle-aged businessman looked fresh from a workout in the Davenports exercise room. Spending no more than 60 seconds in the gallery, the man took in the art, muttered lovely, lovely, clapped his hands once in an expression of satisfaction, and left.


Other customers that day spent more time lazily sipping each piece of art with their eyes.


De Felice says the gallery is profitable, but he didnt know its first years revenues because hes been too busy with various projects to calculate them recently. Business at Galleria De Felice is sporadic, though. He has gone some months selling literally nothing, while in other months he has taken in up to $50,000. Sales have inched upward since the gallery opened, and in May De Felice hired two part-time employees and expanded his hours so that the gallery now is open seven days a week, from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.


The artists are paid between 50 percent and 70 percent of what the pieces sell for, which is equal to or somewhat more for the artist than most galleries arrangements allow, De Felice says. The remainder goes to the gallery, and a percentage of that is used to pay rent, although he declines to say what percentage of sales the Worthys charge.


De Felice says he hopes that his sales to local customers will grow in the future.


Youd think that a community that clamors for art galleries and culture would show more support, he says. My hope is that that will change as more galleries open. With more exposure to high-caliber art, people wont be as blown away by the prices.


Local customersor browsers, mainlyoften compare the price of the art in the gallery to the cost of buying a new car, De Felice says. Its often hotel guests from Los Angeles, Seattle, and other large cities who come in and plunk down $30,000 or $40,000 for a few pieces of art in one fell swoop, he says. Thats part of the reason De Felice expanded the gallerys hours.


Because the hotel is open 24 hours a day, it could be that one person that wanders by early on a Monday morning who buys a month worth of purchases, he says.


De Felice also encourages customers to consider buying art prints, which are much less expensive than original work. Most prints range in price from $15 to $75, but some prints can cost as much as $12,000, he says.


That doesnt make up much of my business because people dont see them hanging on the walls, De Felice says.


Wall space is an issue for De Felice. When the gallery first opened, the art was displayed in museum-like fashion, with each painting hanging somewhat in isolation on a wall.


De Felice liked giving such attention to each piece, but realized he needed to give customers more options and display items closer together.


You cant show a lot of inventory that way, he says. In this economy, it was very stressful.


The 30 or so paintings in Galleria De Felice hang in bold frames on taupe-colored walls, and the sculptures, ceramic work, and glass sculptures sit on simple black pillars, with the arts beauty speaking for itself.


De Felice says when he sees a new piece of art for the gallery, he doesnt automatically think about what it will sell for. His first thoughts are, Wow, what an amazing painting, he says.


Until May, De Felice manned the gallery alone six days a week, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. He also designed the gallerys logo and Web site, and did all the other work related to its operations. In addition, he runs the gallerys consulting service, which helps individuals and organizations choose art either for its complementary appearance in homes and buildings or its potential to appreciate in value.


I also help people who are looking to commission an art piece, and I can help them find the artists that best suit their needs, he says.


By hiring employees, De Felice says he was able to put more of his own energy into contract work he does for Spokane-based North by Northwest Productions Inc., a film, video, and motion-picture production company here. De Felice worked for North by Northwest as its senior art director for 10 years before opening the gallery. He recently designed the sets for the movie Mainline, which North by Northwest filmed in Spokane this summer.


De Felice says he enjoys dabbling in so many creative directions, but hopes one day to focus more on his own art. He specializes in life-size and monumental bronze sculptures. He has done commissioned work for several organizations, including the city of Spokane, Gonzaga University, and the Davenport Hotel. De Felice also works with stained glass and often incorporates religious themes in his work. He exhibits his own work in the gallery.


You feel responsible to use your talents, but I also have other responsibilities, like family, he says. The grand plan, though, is to afford the time to sculpt.