By ANDREW MARTIN

Besides being run by the husband and wife duo of Renee O’Gara and David ‘Gilly’ Gilstein, the owners made it clear that the art in their gallery isn’t there solely for sales purposes. They first ensure that they like both the art and the artist.

“It’s not just selling the art, but it’s selling the artist. It’s been a lot of fun putting together what I call the family of artists,” Gilstein, the talkative one of the couple, said Two or three artists come in weekly to join the gallery, but limited space only allows the 20 to 30 artists featured now.

Of those artists, Gilstein said he and his wife typically choose more established individuals. Some are professionals and some are not. While he didn’t call the non-professionals ‘starving artists,’ he did say that they usually had a full-time job to support their art career. More than half of the artists call Rhode Island home while the others are from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and New Hampshire.

Besides getting close to the artists, the other enjoyable part of owning the gallery is filling it with a variety ‘high quality art,’ Gilstein said. The pieces included sculptures, seascape paintings, and photography. The average price per work falls between $500 and $1,000. But some of them are in the $7,000 range. There are also smaller pieces like plates and wine glasses for people looking to not spend as much money. Prints and posters are available as well.

“It’s fun to mix it up … so people can come in and, for example, see a beachscape and say ‘Oh, I don’t like that,’ but then they’ll see an animal painting and love it,” Gilstein said. He added that cows are extremely popular in South County.

When asked about his own work, Gilstein described his background as a photographer and showed off some of his photos, including one beauty he named “Island in the Clouds.” But as he dived into his personal history, he couldn’t help but mention the other artists lining the walls.

Gilstein rattled off names like David K. Anderson, Amy Goodwin and others while showing off their pieces. “We enjoy selling our own art, but with our family of artists, we feel like they’re our brothers and sisters,” Gilstein explained.

As for his and his wife’s art, however, the two started out as photographers after graduating from the University of Rhode Island. Now, she does a lot of portrait work while he does more abstract paintings. They met each other after college and rented a house in Charlestown before buying a home together in Narragansett.

“But we wanted to move back,” Gilstein said. So they did, in the mid-1980s. During that time, he was traveling to Providence, where he was shooting for New England companies like Reebok, Converse and Hasbro, with the latter focusing on Mr. Potato Head.

In between working, the couple traversed the globe. In particular, they were visiting galleries and taking photos. But a stop at the Charlestown Gallery changed all that. The gallery, which was opened 14 years ago by Mickey and Ran Ranalli, has been run by Gilstein and O’Gara for nearly four years. The Ranalli family still owns the property.

“We took over the gallery with the intent to have more fun but make less money. We want to stay here and build a reputation,” Gilstein said.

Other than making a profit, he said one challenge is attracting people who love art like they do.

“Sometimes I feel like it’s gambling and we open up the casino and play the slots hoping to hit the jackpot once in a while,” Gilstein said. But being successful doesn’t take much. One good sale per day or a great sale per week will keep them open for business.

Gilstein said many times that visitors to the gallery should not feel pressured into buying something.

Just take a look around, he said, and if you tell someone about it, maybe they will come in, too.

Increasing word of mouth and traffic from potential buyers in Rhode Island is the other big challenge for the couple. Although they get plenty of Connecticut and New York residents, Gilstein and O’Gara would love more Ocean Staters in the gallery.

“It’s a hard lesson for us to learn that more than half the population out there doesn’t really care about art … but if you go into anyone’s house, there’s something hanging on the wall,” Gilstein said.

“It’s just something you become attached to.”

The gallery is open 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday during the summer. Visit the gallery online at www.charlestowngalleryri.com for more information.