Ok, what’s the point of having the Newburyport Blog if I can’t “hype” what I do every now and then. Seems like it should be one of the “perks” of blogging the Newburyport Blog along with “frogs” (Are the frogs a “perk?” I’m not sure if I would exactly describe the frogs as a “perk.” Maybe something else.)

Anyway, when I’m not blogging, I’m painting. And the Newburyport Blog has actually influenced what I paint. I’ve been blogging so much about Open Space in Newburyport, MA, that I’ve actually started to go back and do paintings (or I guess technically they could be called “landscapes”) of the “Open Space” in Newburyport that I love so much.

One of the things that I couldn’t believe when I first “discovered” Newburyport, MA and moved here in 1981 was the combination of pasture or untouched farm land and a gorgeous historic small historic seaport city, right on the mouth of the Merrimac River and the Atlantic Ocean.

And I’ve always loved driving up Route 95 and seeing that expanse of Open Space and then driving down historic High Street.

And I’ve always loved going down Scotland Road and seeing all that beautiful pasture.

As I’ve blogged the Newburyport Blog, low these almost 14 months, I’ve learned more than I ever imagined how hard all kinds of people are fighting to preserve that wonderful balance between Open Space and our architectural historic assets. And it has been so engrained in my own “hard drive” that I did a painting of that area along Scotland Road that the City of Newburyport has been fighting so hard for to preserve as Open Space.

I’m very grateful to all those folks who fight so hard to preserve our historic assets, whether they are historic open space or historic architectural resources.

“The Pasture”
Oil on Paper, 5.5″ x 22″
2007 © Mary Baker (that’s my painting name)

More of the “Open Space” landscapes can be found at Mary Baker Art.

Thank you for indulging me in my “hype” and my “perk.”

Mary Eaton
Newburyport