<p>Jill McVarish works to hang new work at RiverSea Gallery for the “WinterPrint 2014" exhibition.</p>

Lets say youve decided to redecorate your house. You rearrange the furniture; you take down the pictures on the wall, patch and paint the holes, and replace them with new ones; you decide to move all the dishes somewhere else and install a shelf for all those knick-knacks. The place looks so great you decide to hold an open house, invite everyone in town, and provide wine and finger food.

Sounds unlikely but if you do that every month, you might as well open an art gallery.

There are two kinds of art galleries. One is a kind of store for art: These shops carry an inventory of certain artists and restock when necessary.

The other is an exhibition gallery that has a different show every month, and it often brings in artists who dont regularly exhibit in the area.

One such gallery is RiverSea Gallery in Astoria. Owner Jeannine Grafton doesnt see the gallery as a house to be rearranged, so much as a play to be staged, with dress rehearsal the day before the show opens.

We present both individual and themed group shows monthly, Grafton explains. Our focus is art from the Northwest, and we show emerging artists alongside those who have national recognition. This focus is an expression of my vision. Im also the producer and director, and I have to stay on top of the administrative details. That means that Grafton is sometimes a stagehand or a gofer, even if there are four other people working to get everything ready before the opening.

Those four people patch and paint the walls, hang paintings, move displays behind temporary curtains that hide much of the activity and they do this while keeping the gallery open and helping visitors. After the show is over, it will be time to pack and ship the artwork that has sold.

A 50-hour week is not unusual for Grafton, and much of her time is spent doing everything any small business owner does, from merchandising to advertising. She also designs the promotional pieces for every show and manages her website, which includes formatting and uploading scores of pictures of the art on exhibit.

Grafton articulates the simple goal of RiverSea: to connect people with art.

Allyn Cantor, director of White Bird Gallery in Cannon Beach, agrees. She sees her role as a bridge, fostering a relationship with artists and with clients.

Organizing and hanging the exhibits are the two major jobs, Cantor says, and theres plenty to do. Deciding on themes or artists for shows, and then hanging each show and arranging the gallery to make things look good together is top priority because people want things for their homes.

During most of the year, White Birds customers are regional, many coming from Portland and Seattle. But during the summer, with all the Cannon Beach events and festivals, tourists arrive from all over the map. Ive noticed that when people come to the festivals, Cantor observes, they come to see the artists. Thus getting artists and visitors together becomes part of the job.

Then there is the matter of deciding which artists to represent, and she is always willing to look at an artists work. You have to take in new artists, she observes, or your regulars get bored.

Of course, not everyone gets in. If 50 artists submit work for consideration, Cantor must decide which five or 10 will fit into the gallery. This often means deciding who is an amateur versus a potential professional and sometimes treading lightly to avoid offending artistic sensibilities. Cantors own aesthetic sense plays a role in which art she shows, but I dont take just what I like. I try to look at the big picture.

Next time you visit an art gallery and find yourself thinking, What a wonderful job to have, surrounded by art, just waiting for people to come in, admire and buy, remember a few realities. Think 50-hour week, or artistic sensibilities, or upload scores of pictures. Still, neither Cantor nor Grafton would trade their jobs for another.

Its fun, exciting and challenging, and you meet the most wonderful people, Grafton declares. Its something you have to absolutely be devoted to. I feel that Im doing what I was meant to do.