Front Cover - Watercolor Memories of Austin by Mary Doerr
The Art of Mary Doerr

Watercolor Memories of Austin

Now Available!

Watercolor Memories of Austin

The Art of Mary Doerr

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.

Front Cover - Watercolor Memories of Austin by Mary Doerr

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.”

Mary Doerr watercolor artist Austin
Mary Doerr

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.”

"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.

The Hat Store

Enchanted Rock

LBJ Wildflower Center

Lake Austin

Hamilton Pool

Tower with Fountain

The Doors of Austin

The Bluebonnet

Tower with Azaleas

Old Main St. Edward's University

Sixth Street

Capitol of Texas

Lake Travis

Afternoon on the Pedernales

Images of Austin

River City

Front Cover - Watercolor Memories of Austin by Mary Doerr
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