Mary Doerr, Artist - Watercolor Memories of Austin, Texas

The Art of Mary Doerr

Watercolor Memories of Austin

Now Available!

From the burnt-orange pride of the UT Tower, to the glorious bluebonnets of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, to the gleaming red granite of the Texas Capitol, artist Mary Doerr has captured the colors of Austin as well as the city’s colorful culture.

With over 100 vibrant paintings, “Watercolor Memories of Austin” holds more than highlights from the 20-year career of an artist.

Doerr tells the stories behind the paintings, along with her “trade secrets” about how she paints.

She details the fascinating history of some of Central Texas’ most iconic landmarks.

And with wry humor she paints a portrait of growing up in Austin, from a 7-year-old in the 1940s to an adult who made the leap of faith to become a professional artist in her late 40s.

This is a book that celebrates “Old Austin,” preserving memories of beloved gone-but-not-forgotten places. But it also honors the enduring legacy of the places that keep Austin what it’s always been: unique, evolving and, yes, wonderfully weird.

The Lady Who Paints Austin

Mary Doerr

When my family moved to Austin in 1941, the only things sticking up in the sky were the Capitol and the UT Tower. What a skyline!

We moved here from flat West Texas, where the only things sticking up in the sky were oil derricks and pumper jacks. What amazed me about my new home were the big oak trees, the chain of lakes and the Hill Country.

We came from a place called Lakeview, where there wasn’t a lake within 50 miles. Here there were famous buildings and Barton Springs. The only swimming holes I had seen were stock tanks, but there were swimming pools all over the place in Austin! It was so wonderful I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

With that introduction to my new home, is it any wonder I loved to paint Austin?

I soon learned I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Knowing how special Austin was, some Austinites had developed this “life-raft mentality”: Now that we are on this life raft (Austin), we don’t want others to come. We’d have to share the wealth!

Old Austinites tried to keep Austin a secret, but people kept coming and coming, and Old Austinites lost that battle. So we just said, “OK, if you’re coming anyway, wipe your feet, don’t build tall buildings that block all the views of the Capitol, and help us take care of Austin’s treasures.”

Deciding to paint Austin was just my humble effort to document the flavor and uniqueness of our fair city, the capital of the great state of Texas. I was proud to become known as “The Lady Who Paints Austin.”

Austin artist Mary Doerr entered the world as Mary Hugh Colley on January 15, 1934, in Memphis, Texas. After her sister, Jane, entered the world, it became apparent to parents Hugh and Eva Colley that their Depression-era school teacher wages could not support the family, so the family moved to Austin in search of opportunity.

Mary’s father got a job with the state. Mary’s mother put her art degree to work as curator of UT’s Rare Book Collection, where she rebound and repaired old books and manuscripts.

The Colleys lived on East Avenue (now I-35), just south of 19th Street (now Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.). It was at John B. Winn Elementary (later the site of UT’s baseball stadium, Disch-Falk Field) that she was introduced to a major influence on her life: Girl Scouts. She loved scouting because it was the one place she could do things considered “too strenuous” for girls at the time.

At University Junior High, she discovered that physical education was her favorite subject. At Stephen F. Austin High School her love of sports led her to join the tennis team, and her love of Girl Scouts took her from camper to counselor at Camp Texlake on Lake Travis.

Throughout those years, her love for creating art grew to wanting to major in art in college. But with practical advice from her mother, Mary entered the University of Texas in 1952, studying to become a physical education teacher. That led to teaching middle school PE in Alvin, Texas, which led to marrying Danny Doerr, which led to the birth of a daughter, Robin, in 1962.

In 1966 Austin called again and the Doerr family answered. Now Mary’s love of Girl Scouts led to a career with the organization, including teaching adult leaders the outdoor skills they needed for teaching the girls.

With similar interests and children of the same age, Mary and Ginny Findeisen became friends and Girl Scout colleagues – a friendship that was to have a profound influence on Mary’s life. Mary credits Ginny with encouraging her to take the first step toward realizing her lifelong dream of becoming a professional artist. By then in her late 40s, Mary took that leap of faith and earned a masters in art at UT.

At her first art show, she received a commission for 10 watercolors. At her second show, at the Old Pecan Street Arts Festival, she realized the success of her Austin scenes meant her dream really could become a reality. Then with proceeds from publishing prints of her paintings, she started her own business – Mary Doerr Studio – in 1985, with Ginny as her business partner. Ten years later she was able to open her own gallery, Images of Austin and the Southwest, on Burnet Road.

Through the following decades, Mary became one of Austin’s most prolific and popular artists, earning her the title of “The Lady Who Paints Austin.”

In 2005, however, failing eyesight meant she could no longer paint. Daughter Robin – who got her own art degree, from UT-El Paso – took over the gallery and frame shop in 2006, letting Mary and Ginny retire to a ranch and enjoy life outdoors in Lampasas County.

Now back in Austin again, publishing “Watercolor Memories of Austin: The Art of Mary Doerr” lets her add “author” to her list of accomplishments – and share her love of her colorful hometown with even more people through her colorful art.

"People in Austin love the city and treasure its visual History… I make art for them."

- Mary Doerr

Art Prints

“These giclée prints are printed on acid-free watercolor paper, with 12-color 100-year pigmented inks with exceptional color stability. These are high quality, vibrant prints that can almost be mistaken for the original. Once, I almost sold an original, mistaking it for the print! They have a brilliant range of vibrant colors with smooth gradations with incredibly fine details.” – Robin Doerr, Owner, Images of Austin.

Prints are available now. Select from 3 sizes. Print orders ship within 5 business days.

Click on any image for a larger view.