August 4-8 Mt. Rainier Paint Out
Byline: Britt Greenland
Thank you to everyone who came and contributed to this paint out! It was my first time facilitating, and I learned some lessons about organization for next time. Thank you, everyone for rolling with the punches. A big thank you to Karen, who helped facilitate the non-hikers and supplied our firewood, magical roasting sticks, and many other details.
The ideas for places to paint came from one of the most prolific plein air painters and climbers I’ve met—Mark Webster. In asking him about places to paint on Rainier, I told him about PAWA and he became a member and also joined us for the paint out and camped with us a couple of nights.
We had about 7-10 people who stayed at Cougar Rock Campground and about 10 other PAWA members who joined us at various painting locations in the park!
There was no lack of laughter, good food, and sun. We were so fortunate to have clear weather most of the time.
Our first unofficial painting session on Sunday afternoon was just across from our campground looking up the Nisqually River to the majestic mountain. It turns out that one of the best views is the easiest to access. The warm weather made the ice cold water extra inviting for hot feet.
On Monday morning, our group met at Paradise and a couple alternate locations. Some of us hiked up the Alta Vista/Skyline trail a mile to get closer to the mountain, and then realized that shade was vital for survival and came back down the trail a little bit to paint. Other painters found that the shade of the visitor center was the place to paint from—offering both reliable shade, nearby bathrooms, and a view of the mountains or buildings.
Monday afternoon, most folks painted a different view in the Paradise area. Monday evening, we pulled together the best taco bar I’ve ever experienced! However, many of us wanted to return to the river to work on our Sunday evening paintings, so we may have eaten a bit too fast/much.
Tuesday morning, we met at Reflection Lake for a jaw-dropping view of Rainier. Most artists opted to paint in pockets of shade around the lake. Two of us hiked up the 2 miles of the Pinnacle peak trail to paint, and found sweeping views, but no shade and biting flies and mosquitoes. Most painters stayed at the lake to paint another view or continue the same one in the afternoon. Those of us camping met for a yummy dinner cooked over the fire that evening. Wednesday morning was a bit more scattered as some people went home and others by then had figured out what scenes they wanted to fit in. Three artists painted at Comet Falls—a four mile round trip hike. Three of us painted at Christine Falls. At various other times throughout the paint out, folks painted right by the buildings at Longmire where there is a fantastic view of the mountain.
At any given time, there were probably people from PAWA painting at 3-5 different locations, so I’ve certainly not listed all those locations!
Those few artists who stayed Thursday had a misty atmosphere for painting that day.
Because of the lack of cell reception, communication was difficult but when there were missed connections, artists were happy to find their own corner to paint. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the experience, and I have a feeling many will return to paint there again.