By Molly Hashimoto, Guest Blogger and Artist/Author of Mount Rainier National Park: An Artist’s Tour

This is a brief story about how I came to write Mount Rainier National Park: An Artist’s Tour, published by Mountaineers Books. I started visiting Mt. Rainier decades ago when I was 23 years old, and I’ve made art about it since that time. After every visit I always wanted to honor the mountain, the park, its flora and fauna and my own personal encounters with these things. Drawing and painting and writing were the way that I found to do that.

Union Bay in the summer

When you live near Puget Sound, the mountain presides over your everyday life—for me during my work week it was a leitmotiv—the view of it from afar, aside from its great beauty, stood for all the joy that I found on weekend outings. I could see it from my first Seattle apartment, back in the late 1970s, and from the waterfront when I ate my sack lunch there. And now I can see it from the roof of my house, in northeast Seattle, and on the walks I take in my neighborhood.

Nisqually Vista and Avalanche Lilies at Paradise

I still remember how I gasped in amazement on my first visit when I drove over the Nisqually Bridge and up toward Paradise, looking back up the Nisqually Glacier to the Mountain. Taking in its entire height and girth is overwhelming—it is so impossibly big! I sought a way to answer and rise to the occasion of that wonder, and art and writing gave me the tools to do that.

Grove of the Patriarchs

I’ve visited all parts of the park, and the diversity is part of the wonder. Elevation can differ by thousands of feet—for example, between Paradise at 5,400 feet and Grove of the Patriarchs at 2,200 feet. Slender subalpine firs thrive at Paradise, and 1,000-year-old Douglas firs and western redcedars survive at Ohanapecosh.

A day hike like the one I took to Glacier Basin can be quickly recorded with a series of small sketches and vignettes, done with watercolor and a water-soluble pen. This way of expressing the thrill of a trip to the park is within the reach of almost anyone—just a few inexpensive art supplies are all you need.

Sketches from Glacier Basin

In writing this book, I wanted to share everything that has impressed me over the years. My aim was to bring together art and writing to give a sense of the deeply moving experience of being at the park. My hope is that the book will also help visitors see how they might approach drawing, painting and writing, in order to express their own excitement about Mount Rainier National Park.

Molly Hashimoto is dedicated to connecting people of all ages to nature through hands-on art experiences. She teaches and leads plein air watercolor workshops around the West, including at the North Cascades Institute, Yellowstone Forever Institute, and Sitka Center for Art and Ecology. Molly lives in Seattle, Washington. You can visit her website at mollyhashimoto.com. Her book, Mount Rainier National Park: An Artist’s Tour, is available to purchase at mountaineers.org/books/books/mount-rainier-national-park-an-artists-tour.