Nearly 90 Years of Art
A Retrospective of Her Work On Display
Austin artist Clara Foster Newby has been creating beauty on canvass and other media since her childhood. It is her gift. It is also her gift to Austin and others.
“Journey: a retrospective of the art of Clara Foster Newby” will be on display at the Link & Pin gallery, 2235 East 6th Suite 102 beginning with an opening reception, Saturday, March 29, 4-8 pm. Sunday, March 30, 2-6 p.m., is Newby’s birthday party. She will be 89 on March 31. Her works will be on display through April 13, 2014.
Newby was the 2004 Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Artist of the Year. “Skilled watercolorist and longtime Wildflower Center volunteer Clara Newby captures the sturdy elegance of the Texas,” their web site says. (https://www.wildflower.org/shop/detailview_new.php?id=111).
The retrospective, however includes works from her childhood through March, 2014. “She never would be tied down creatively, always looking for something new to do. So, the show has acrylics, water color, collage, and sculpture,” said daughter Debra Newby Watkins.
“My journey as an artist began when I was a child growing up in Greenville, TX,” Newby says. “We lived just a few houses from an artist and my parents decided I should take art lessons. My mother was a seamstress and, since barter was a popular way of doing things in the days of the depression, she sewed for the nearby artist in exchange for my lessons.”
Newby’s formal training began with Simon Michael of Rockport, Texas. “During the years of study with Simon Michael, we made several painting trips, spending several weeks in Spain, Italy, Santa Fe and the Chesapeake Bay area.
“Along the way, I became enamored with watercolors. As I continued my study with Simon Michael, I also began attending workshops with watercolorists such as Ken Hosmer and Clay McGaughy both in Kerrville, TX and Cloudcroft, NM.”
Clara Newby continues to paint and produce other art in her studio in South Austin.