Is there a favorite spot you like to frequent in Austin? A place you take anyone who visits? Well chances are 89-year-old Mary Doerr has captured it in magnificent watercolor.  

Mary, a UT alum, made Austin her muse. She captured the cool, cerulean waters of Hamilton pool. Nightly bat undulations out of Congress Bridge. Barton Springs, vistas everyone recognizes, UT landmarks, weird-Austin, and the everchanging Austin skyline.  

Mary Doerr is the lady who paints Austin. As a child, she felt a stirring in her heart when she held an artist’s brush. While other children played outside, Mary contemplated the beauty of the world through lines and shadows and color. “I will become an artist,” she dreamed. 

For decades, life took her on a different path. Yet, that stirring in her heart never ceased and her friend Ginny implored her to follow her dreams and become a professional artist. So, at the age of 47, Mary took her friend’s advice. 

But she had her critics. “Aren’t you too old?  Aren’t you afraid of competing with young people in art school?” She got asked. Mary knew the truth. “Well, I knew I was going to give it everything I had. I didn’t have to worry about keeping up with them. They needed to worry about keeping up with me.” 

At her first art show, her watercolors sold well. People were drawn to and enamored by her Austin-centered work. Over the last 40 years, Mary’s creations have become iconic. Her images are so beloved because they evoke a sentimental yearning, especially among Austinites. “There’s an attitude here that’s special,” she says. “I hope we never lose it.” 

As she adjusts her turquoise and silver bolero, Mary thinks back on her gumption to follow her dreams at age 50. “If you’re thinking of starting at 50 like me,” she says, “have good friends who will encourage you. Then just go for it!”