Nearly 90 Years of Art
A Retrospective of Clara Foster
Newby’s Work On Display
By Jim
McNabb
Austin
artist and First Austin member 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.
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