Art exhibition featuring the artwork of Mary McInnis and Gretchen Hansen is on display throughout June at Auburn City, 25 W. Main St.

Experience portraiture expressed using two very different methodologies. McInnis uses thick brushstrokes and an extreme close-up vantage point of her subjects while Hansen’s delicate watercolor imagery, is as much about what is left unpainted as it is the color applied to the paper.

McInnis works primarily in pastels and oil paints, capturing the natural world around her as well as portraiture of friends and family. She was born in Richland in 1957, grew up in West Seattle, and now resides in Port Orchard. With an early interest in art, her education started in junior high and continued with a bachelor of fine arts in painting at the University of Washington, and continues with a busy schedule of workshops and exhibitions throughout the region.

Hansen’s watercolor portraits work to reveal the inner spirit of a child at play. In seeking to illustrate the intimate connection between children and their play spaces, the background is left purposefully devoid of color as the entire emphasis is on the subject. The series displayed capture the personal and playful portraiture of the artist’s two nieces.

The exhibit is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Admission is free.

A receptions for the artists is June 11, from 6-7:30 p.m.

The Auburn City Hall Gallery is presented by the Auburn Arts Commission and Auburn Parks, Arts & Recreation.

For a 2009 Gallery Brochure or for information on other cultural arts programs, go to www.auburnwa.gov/arts or call 253-931-3043.