VALLEY WEEKEND : Picture a Deal That’s Framed, Ready to Hang : Gallery warehouse offers art to the public at wholesale prices, as low as $6 for a small print.

A few years ago when Bill McAlevey viewed the leftovers of a wholesale art operation that hadn’t been sold, he thought, “Why not sell this to the public at the same wholesale prices? All my buyers are out of the Los Angeles area, so they wouldn’t care and the public would get a heck of a deal.”

And at Spectra Galleries, the public does. McAlevey’s wholesale customers for his framed pictures are hotels, restaurants (a 20-year IHOP contract alone keeps his framers busy) and furniture and gift stores--where the pieces are priced at just about double.

The fabulous buys start in the parking area, where some of the merchandise is displayed on dollies. Prices run from $6 for some small, attractively framed bird prints to larger florals, also nicely framed and selling for $49. The parking lot displays change daily. Once inside the 13,000-square-foot warehouse, the selection is visible and extensive. Other than a couple of original oil paintings, the most expensive items in the place are some handsome hunt scenes, hand-colored engravings from the original steel plates, that measure 24 by 36 inches and are framed in stunning cherrywood. You would pay over $600 for these elsewhere, but here the price is $375.

Currently popular are the framed advertisements from publications of yesteryear--including a Mellins cereal ad from an 1885 Ladies Home Journal, framed and priced at $79. Erte reproductions (not signed or numbered) in suitable Art Deco frames run from $119 to $195.

To fill a large space, some original acrylic paintings measuring 40 by 50 inches provide an inexpensive option. All in soft pastel colors, these are marked $99, which is $20 under the wholesale price.

Spectra also does custom framing, but this is not the usual frame store where you pick a print from a bin and let them frame it. The inventory here is already framed and ready to hang.

* Spectra Galleries, 13401 Sherman Way, North Hollywood (818) 764-0510. Hours: Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. MasterCard, Visa accepted.

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Weekend Super Sale: A five-day, pre-holiday sale at Comfort Cocoon, discounter of luxury European-style bed linens, offers some great savings on down comforters. Sale runs from Friday 1to Tuesday. Comfort Cocoon, 19350 Business Center Drive, Northridge. (818) 363-7805.